The Ruts We Find Ourselves In

So lately I have felt like I have fallen into a rut with Malibu. Last Friday, I had cleaned stalls all morning after getting back in Troy from Florida. I had caught Malibu early and stuck her in a stall so I didn't have to go in search of her when I was done. Well, I finally got all 8 stalls cleaned and 8 horses had been on the hot walker when I tied Malibu on the side of the barn where I always tie her. I had just put the last horse in her stall when I realized an empty shavings bag was flying down the aisle due to the wind (towards Malibu). I quickly ran trying to get Malibu to calm down, but of course she set back, ripped the board off of the barn, and went running with it flying behind her. She ran until she got the board and lead rope caught around a tree (thank God). I think she either would have run until she got across the road and was gone forever or broken a leg in the process. Thankfully I got to her and got her calmed down and she just looked like she skinned the hair off of a few spots on her back legs.

Well, I put medicine on the worse cuts and managed to spray her with liniment and kept her up by the barn in a small paddock for the night. The next day, she looked fine and wasn't even walking with a limp so I gave her an anti-inflammatory pill and turned her back out. So fast forward to today and she has a bruise (I think) under her belly from the board hitting her, and her cuts look pretty good and she is totally not limping on it. I was going to ride her today for a few minutes, but decided to go in another direction with our time today. 

This is the bruise under her belly. If it doesn't go down, the vet is coming on Thursday and can look at it if needed. 

--So if you know Malibu, you know she is very wary of her surroundings. She especially has a hard time dealing with people. I got Malibu because really I was the only person who felt like dealing with her. She was super weird on the ground, but once you swung your leg over her, she turned into a pretty neat little mare. Well I started messing with her a week before we got her and within that week, with me messing with her daily, she seemed to come out of her shell a bit.

She started out where you could not advance in her direction with your arms raised even in the slightest. She would practically run backwards. I found out the best way for me to approach her was 

to come at an angle to her shoulder with my hands flat at my side. She seemed to really approve of my approach. So, anything you had in your hands, she would really look at, often moving away from you until you finally just sat the saddle on her or the blanket. She never, ever let me touch her head. That was just a no-go. So I figured, well, maybe she will always just be head-shy. Nope, after she learned how good horse treats were, she started to accept having hands around her, she even started following me for cookies. 

Fast-forward a few weeks. She is now a totally different horse to be around. I have taken her on trail rides, stalled her, and hauled her a few times. She follows me, comes up in the field, and puts her head at my chest for me to rub her face. The only problem I could think of that I still had with her was her feet. Anytime you touched her legs, or even crouched down to look at them, she would totally step away from you, scared. I thought she was never going to give me the opportunity, or trust me enough, to let me mess with her feet. Thankfully, her hooves look rather amazing for not being trimmed in a while. 

--Today, after I had decided I wasn't going to try and ride, I decided I would try and desensitize her a little bit and help her get over some stuff. I took off my jacket and started swinging the arm around me first, then I got closer and closer to her, eventually letting it touch her on her sides and her neck. After it touched her, she was curious, not scared, and she would touch it with her nose, smelling it. Anytime she made the approach to touch the "scary" jacket, I would give her a treat. This seemed to really resonate with her. So after the jacket, I figured I really need to start working with her legs.

I put a few treats in my pockets and as I would crouch down and rub her front two legs, I would give her one then she started standing still so I took away the treats and she began letting me rub her legs with no treats being used. She began kind of weary, but once she understood my approach, she stood perfectly still while I rubbed all over her front legs. 

--I've been wondering lately if I've got what it takes to show Malibu that things aren't as scary as she thinks, so today I tried and I'm so happy I did. She actually let me hold her right front for a few seconds, then I let it go before she pulled away. 

--I tried to hold her left foot up the same way, but she felt pressured and stepped away. So I started back to just rubbing them up and down and she ended standing there quietly letting me do whatever. 

I'm so so happy I decided to try and work with her today. She really made me feel like I can get her to where she needs to be in life. She has the potential to be something amazing and I finally feel more confident with re-training her (or showing her that people aren't scary). 

I love this mare more and more everyday and she seems to really trust me. The other day something scared her on the road and she stepped to me when I was closer to the road than she was. 

--But the point I wanted to make here is that no matter what you are facing in life, don't beat yourself up about it, remember to look back at where you started. And if the way you are doing it isn't working, slow down and try a different way. I'm so happy that is what I did today and I can't wait to take things slow with Malibu and see what she turns into.