34. Leading Spice away from the herd...

Since being at my new yard i've been taking things very slowly so as not to over load Spice with too many new things and give her enough time to get used to being in her new home with her new herd. So far she has settled in brilliantly, no injuries have occurred and everyone now has what seems to be their 'set positions' within the herd.

The first thing i wanted to work on with Spice was getting her used to being taken away from the herd on her own so she would learn that although she was leaving them it wasn't going to be long before she saw them again. As i have already mentioned Spice is only 5 years old and she is a very nervous horse - it was therefore important for me to habituate her to being led away from the herd in a calm and quiet manner so when it comes to riding her again she feels confident and we do not encounter problems related to a lack of confidence.

The first time i attempted to take her away went a little like this....

Day 1. Very reluctant to leave herd, hesitated 3 times (refused to follow lead), extremely nervous, overly alert, jerky movements, on her toes, difficult to control - lost in her own fear - very anxious, as soon as herd was out of sight turned into a nervous wreck, would not stand still, barged me out of the way, pawed the ground when asked to stand still, attempted to nip, extremely stressed could not wait to rush back to herd.

On reflection i could have probably taken things even slower than this, i.e. just getting her out of the gate to her field and then turning her round would probably have kept her within her comfort zone and prevented her from having such a stressful first experience away from her herd but as i am new to all this i am still learning and i am pleased to say that i don't think it has done any harm as she is now much better.

I have repeated this exercise every day over the last 2 weeks and the turn around has been incredible...

Day 14. Slight hesitation to leave herd but follows easily once prompted with pressure aimed at hind quarters to gain impulsion. Follows my lead calmly and quietly with no resistance. A slight hesitation on approaching yard entrance but gives in easily to applied pressure. Follows my lead down to the entrance calmy and upon arrival stands still for a full 10 seconds (as asked), awaits for my command to turn around and follows quietly and calmly all the way back- much much better.

The difference in Spices overall temperament during this short task has changed drastically and i know i will reap the benefits of this exercise when i finally come to riding her out of which i hope will be next week when i get my new treeless saddle so please pop back to see how that goes and what both i and spice think of our new saddle!