Leaving Trinity and Phoenix

Well, it sure has been a long time since I've updated this... A lot has happened since then. For personal reasons, I am no longer part of Trinity Rescue. But, I'll update you on a couple of things that happened before I made the decision to leave.

On 9/15/13, Phoenix was cross-tied for the first time in her life. I might have explained this in a previous post, but cross-ties are basically leashes connected to the wall that connect to a horse's halter. We cross-tied her in one of the washracks and I groomed her. She was pretty confused, but she did well. Sometimes she would step forward and then get a bit stressed because she couldn't understand why she couldn't go anywhere. But she settled down and did just fine.

I continued going once a week and spending time with her until 10/5/13. My last day at Trinity was spent completely with Phoenix. I cross-tied her, groomed her, free-lunged her, and then let her run around the arena with another horse while I got some pictures.

Due to a conflict of interests with the owner, the best decision for myself was to leave Trinity. I've been able to focus more on school, and that's great, but I really miss Phoenix. I can still text the friends I made there and ask if they want to hang out, but I can't do that with a horse. I miss her, but at least I know that I got her to a point where she no longer needs me. She trusts people and she's no longer frightened by the tiniest of things. She seeks out attention from humans, she's an indoors horse, and she can be cross-tied. I'm proud of her and knowing that she can do those things gives me comfort when I think about how I can no longer be a part of her life. I'm also comforted by the fact that though my time with her was short, it was definitely worth it. When I was bit by Rascal, I gained a fear of horses. Cleo began the process of rebuilding my confidence with horses and Phoenix finished that process.

When the semester ends, I have plans to start at a new barn. This barn uses horses to do therapy with special needs kids. I'm excited to start there and be around horses again.

 Phoenix's first time being cross-tied

Phoenix having a nice run in the arena

Pregnancy and Foals

We knew from the beginning that it was very possible that Phoenix could be pregnant. We knew that the place where Phoenix and Raven had come from, the stallions had gotten to all the mares. Recently both Phoenix and Raven's bellies have been getting bigger and we were quite convinced they were pregnant. Someone even claimed to have seen Phoenix's belly shift a lot and they had believed they might have seen a leg. Well, the vet visited the barn today and did an ultrasound on Phoenix. There is NO baby growing inside of her. We don't yet know about Raven because the vet was unable to check her.

I'm actually glad that she's not pregnant. When Adira birthed Trinity's first foal, she took some steps back with the progress that she had started to make with humans. I was afraid that something like that might happen with Phoenix. I put a lot of time in her and I would hate to see her be set back. Another concern of mine was how malnourished she was when she first came to us and if that would negatively affect the baby. Also, school has started and I can now only make it to the barn once or twice a week, which is why I haven't been posting on this blog lately. Knowing she is not pregnant is a relief. With school being in, I already miss a lot of time with Phoenix. I wouldn't want to miss something as big as her having a baby.

Speaking of babies, Mira has been weaned from her mother Adira. Since Phoenix grew up in a large breeding herd, she's been a good babysitter to Mira. Also, this past weekend we welcomed two and a half new rescues: a pregnant mare and her foal. The mare is an appaloosa named Monet and the vet says she is 5-6 months pregnant. The foal that she already has is jokingly being called a paintaloosa and his name is Picasso. I've already taken lots of pictures of them, and I can't wait to photograph them even more.

 Picasso introducing himself to some of the herd.

 Monet, the pregnant mare.

 Mira, Trinity's first foal.

 We affectionately call her our Twonkey (Tennessee Walking Horse/Donkey).

 

Phoenix looks better every day! 

Phoenix Made New Friends

Phoenix is doing incredibly well! She has been integrated into the herd. She no longer is in the small pasture with only her sister, Raven. Last week, she was integrated into what we call the Preschool Pasture. We call it that because so many of the horses in the pasture are pretty young. The first friend she made was Dreamer, a Clydesdale. She took to him really quickly. Then she made friends with another Tennessee Walker, Cleo. The very same Cleo that I mentioned in my first post. It's pretty convenient to have my two favorites in the same pasture.

The first time that I walked out into the pasture to see her, she kept walking away. She would let me get close and then she would just turn around and walk away. I was a little offended, but I also knew that she might have been overwhelmed by the change of scenery. However, soon some other horses were put into the pasture. One of them decided to establish dominance and tried to kick Phoenix. When I went out into the pasture after that, Phoenix came right to me. I almost felt like the poor girl wanted me to save her from the lead mare.

I spent some time out there with her, petting her and hugging her. None of the other horses bothered her while I was with her. When I stopped petting her and began to walk away, she followed me. I petted her some more and then walked away again to go inside. Phoenix then circled around me as if she was trying to herd me back to where we were before.

I realized that my hands were black from petting her, so I grabbed my grooming kit. I groomed her in the pasture. She was really good about it. She moved a little to get some grass, but she stayed close to me and the grooming kit.

Now, Phoenix is fully integrated into the herd. Not only is she in the pasture with them, she also comes inside at the same time that they do. She now spends all day inside a stall. She is also pretty good about letting her halter be put on and taken off. And today, I free lunged her again. It was for longer time than the last time. I worked her pretty hard, and she did well. I also walked her into the wash rack. It shouldn't be too long before she can take baths.

Free Lunging

Yesterday, we started lunging Phoenix. For those of you that don't know, lunging is a way to exercise a horse. You put them on a long rope called a "lunge line", use a carrot stick to direct them, and basically have them run in circles around you. I was very hesitant to do this with Phoenix. I was afraid that she would be scared of the carrot stick and I didn't want her to associate that with me. We took her into the round pen and did some free lunging, meaning we lunged her without a lunge line. I didn't really know how to start. Jonathan, an experienced volunteer, took the carrot stick and showed me how to start her. He lightly swung it at her back legs to get her going. She seemed confused, but she did pretty well. He stopped for a little bit and told me to go pet her and reward her for doing well. After that, I took the carrot stick and it my turn to lunge her. She did well yesterday considering it was her first time being lunged. Raven freaked out in the pasture more than Phoenix did in the round pen.

I really didn't want to scare her and I was very hesitant. But I guess this is something I need to get over. I love her, but I need to stop acting like an overprotective mother...

Yesterday was a pretty good day.

Grooming Inside a Stall

Well, it's been over week since I've updated. Some interesting things have happened since then. This past Monday, I had another riding lesson. I'm getting better at posting and I was able to post without holding on to saddle for a little bit. At one point, I believe I momentarily cantered. However, that was not intentional. I had been trotting for a while and then I was walking to cool her down. Seren, the horse I was riding, suddenly freaked out and started going really fast. I don't really know what happened, I think she might have been bit by a bug. Whatever caused that freak out, it was scary. But, hey, at least I didn't fall off from the sudden change of pace.

Earlier in the week, Tuesday I think, I took Phoenix for a walk in the big pasture. She did pretty well, but she need to work on getting out of my space. At one point, I stopped walking and sort of walked into me because she did not stop. But for the most part, she did great. I then led her into the arena and walked her around in the for a little bit. There was a cavaletti in the middle of the pasture and I decided to walk her over it. It didn't take much to get her to walk over it and she barely clunked her hooves against it.

Yesterday was an exciting day for me. When I arrived at the barn, Phoenix was having her lunch in her stall. I was allowed to go inside the stall and groom her! Now with a lot of horses, that's normal and not that exciting. However, Phoenix has only been in her stall a few times and only during meal time. She did very well and seemed to enjoy it. When she was done eating, she was put back out in the pasture. We brought her back inside for dinner. This time, I got to lead her in the stall. And when she was finished, I was the one to take her back outside. She has quickly adjusted to going inside for meals. As always, she is improving nicely.

Phoenix Went Inside a Stall

For the first time, Phoenix went inside! She has spent her entire life outside. I let her into the outside arena and caught her on a lead line. It was a little more difficult than usual to catch her because a storm was coming and it was making her a bit jumpy. But I caught her and lead her into another pasture. Through that pasture I tried to walk her into the barn. She hesitated at the doorway. She then pulled away and I had to let go of the rope. Sam, Cynthia, and I followed her into the pasture and caught her again. This time, Cynthia walked her. I'm not very big and a full sized adult can certainly handle a struggling horse better than I can. She told Sam to place Phoenix's food bucket directly in the back of the stall, where Phoenix can see it. Cynthia walked Phoe in and let her get a few bites of food. She then told me to grab the bucket and pour it into the feed bucket on the wall. I'm not very tall, so Sam had to help me. It scared Phoe when we first started pouring the food in, but then she realized what it was and she was happy. She happily ate her food in the stall, away from the rain, flies, and Raven. She loves her sister, but I'm sure she appreciated the fact that she didn't have to worry about Raven stealing her food. She could also paw the ground as much as she wanted, without spilling her food in the dirt. She did very well and seemed quite content with being in a stall. I'm very proud of well she handled the new environment.

When she was finished eating, Cynthia walked her back outside. When Phoenix was only about ten feet away from the doorway, she pooped. Cynthia said, "Aw, Phoenix's first indoor poop!" She then turned to me and said, "Your horse. Grab the shovel." At Trinity we have an unwritten rule. If a horse is yours and/or you were working with a horse when they pooped inside, you are the one that cleans it up. Lucky me.

Yesterday and the previous day, I did some more grooming and groundwork. I'm still getting her used to the friendly game. I've been playing it with the exercise balls and the carrot stick. She hardly reacts to the these things, which is good. I can't wait until I can do more with her!

Phoenix inside a stall

Catch and Release

Today I got very frustrated with myself. Sam and I went into the pasture to work with Raven and Phoenix. I put Phoenix on a lead line and I groomed her. When I was done grooming her, I released her so that I go inside to get the MTG to put on her rain rot. She and Raven are outside horses and we've been getting days and days of rain, which unfortunately has given the girls a bit of rain rot. Anyway, I went inside to get the MTG, a sponge to apply it, and a carrot stick to play the friendly game. I went back into the pasture, expecting her to be easy to catch again. She was not. She would get close to me, but as soon as I would move my hands towards her halter, she would walk away. I was frustrated with myself because I wished that I had asked Sam to hold Phoenix while I went inside. I knew Phoenix didn't want to be caught more than once in a day. I would have liked to have to caught her again, but she didn't allow it. I was very frustrated that I had to wait until feeding time to put the MTG on her back. I never did get to play the friendly game today. But, there's always tomorrow.

Groundwork and Riding Lessons

Monday, I did some groundwork with Phoenix in our new round pen. I played the friendly game with her again, using the balls and a carrot stick. I put the red ball on her back and she didn't care. She got a little jumpy when I put the yellow ball on her back. But after a few times, she was fine with it being there.

Phoenix was afraid of the carrot stick. She kept walking away from it with a frightened look in her eyes. She didn't mind the carrot stick as much when I held the string. When it was just the stick that was touching her, she didn't seem scared. After awhile, even with the string, she stopped being afraid of the carrot stick. She did really well.

Tuesday, I did groundwork with Sunny, one of our mustangs. She was stubborn at first, but then she did well for me. I'm still learning the Parelli games and so is she. We learned together. She didn't want to back up and she kept walking away from the carrot stick. She did do well with the Circle game. It was pretty easy to get her running in circles, but sometimes she would go the opposite way than where I wanted her to go.

Yesterday, I had my third riding lesson. My first lesson (well, first riding lesson since childhood)  was on Tuesday 6/11/13. I was supposed to have it the Monday before, but it had been raining. I'm supposed to have a riding lesson every Monday, but after my first lesson it was raining so much that I couldn't have another lesson until 7/1/13.

On my first lesson, I learned some groundwork to do to warm up the horse before riding. I rode Rocket, a lazy and sweet horse that did not want to move. I weaved through a few barrels and then trotted while my instructor had Rocket on a lead line. Trotting is bouncy and makes me feel like I'm going to fall off. However, when I get a hang of posting, it shouldn't really be a problem.

In my next two lessons, I rode Seren, a lazy Mustang. When I'm on her, I like that she goes slow, but I'm leading her it would be nice if she would keep up with my pace. So far at my lessons I've only done groundwork, weaving through objects (at a walking pace, of course), and trotting on line as I try to post. However, there was something unexpected occurring during my lesson on Monday. A horse there was desensitized to gunshots. They were shooting off a gun right next to this horse. It was a little scary when I was Seren and the sound of the gun was spooking her. She trembled and moved around, but she didn't buck or rear up. Still, it made me nervous and my trainer kept Seren on a lead line for safety reasons. I was glad when they stopped shooting it.

I like riding, but I'm an impatient person. I've only had three lessons and I'm already wishing I was improving faster.

Here's some pictures:

The Friendly Game

At Trinity, we use the seven Parelli games in our training of the horses. The first of the games is called the Friendly Game. Basically, you touch the horse all over so they realize that you are friendly and not a predator. Today, I played the friendly game with Phoenix using a medium sized, yellow exercise ball. I had done this two days ago with a smaller, red ball. With the red ball, she had no reaction. I even bounced it in front of her face and she didn't care. Of course, this is the desired reaction with new stimuli. At one point, she even kicked the red ball when it was in the way of the grass that she wanted.

Today, I played the friendly game using both balls. When I held up the red ball for her to sniff, she tried to bite it. Other than that, she pretty much ignored it. When I used the yellow ball, she didn't mind it until I put it over her back. She jumped and tried to run. However, as soon as she felt the slightest of pressure of the lead rope on her halter, she stopped running. She sniffed again and I rubbed it against her yet again. She breathed heavily, but stood still. I put the yellow ball on the ground and tried to get her to kick it, but she just kept walking around it. She didn't understand why I was trying to walk her into an object.

I also got her to cross over water. It's been raining miserably every single day, which has created many large puddles. Phoenix doesn't like water and is hesitant to walk through it. I found a large, muddy puddle in the pasture and lead her through it. I did this three times and she became less hesitant each time.

I don't think it will be too long before I can lunge her and do the other six Parelli games with her.

First Separation

For the very first time, Raven and Phoenix were separated. These two mares have been attached at the hip and we today we put a fence between them. Phoenix was on the grooming schedule for today so I went into the pasture with a grooming kit. I had her on a lead line and I started grooming her when I realized that it was really muddy in the pasture. Raven and Phoenix are kept in the pasture that's right beside our arena and the arena had no mud in it. I remembered that Cynthia had said that at some point I should try separating them. I thought, "Why not now?" and I went inside to ask Nora for help. She opened the gate while I coaxed Phoenix into the arena. She was hesitant to go through the gate, but it only took a few minutes.

Raven and Phoenix didn't even seem to care that there was a fence between them. At one point, I walked a little further with Phoenix. Raven looked up and snorted once and that was the only reaction to the separation. I groomed Phoenix and she did wonderful. Her back legs were splattered with mud, but I didn't groom her legs. I'm still not ready to try that. I don't think she'll get kicky, but you can never be too careful. I did, however, run my hand down one of her front legs just to see what would happen. Her only reaction was to slowly walk away. When I put her back in the pasture with Raven, I took the lead rope off her. Even though I took it off, she followed me when I stepped forward and stopped when I stopped. It was pretty cute.

Later, I went into the pasture with my camera. I wanted to get a full body shot so I could make a comparison photo. That full body shot was a little hard to get because she walked right up to me and wanted some love. She's become so sociable.

 She likes to sniff things before they touch her

 First time they've been separated

 She was very interested in the camera

She's improving everyday. 

Grooming On a Lead Line

Yesterday, I did some more lead work with Phoenix. I was taking one of our mustangs, Rainy, for a walk when I noticed that Sam's dad, Mickey, was in the pasture with Phoenix and Raven with a lead rope in hand. I stopped walking, which lazy Rainy appreciated, and asked Mr. Mickey what he was doing. He said he wanted to catch Raven. I remembered the day that Nora and spent two hours trying to catch her to no prevail and decided to help him. I finished Rainy's walk and turned her back out into the pasture. I grabbed a lead rope and tried to catch my girl, Phoenix. Raven was so worked up that Phoenix was harder to catch than usual. However, as soon as I got her interest with some food, I had her.

I thought if I had Phoenix, then it would be easier to catch Raven. Raven just kept running away. Eventually, I was able to catch Raven on a lead line. I had handed Phoenix to Mickey and I grabbed a food bucket. I sat the bucket down, crouched, and looked away from Raven. When she stuck her head in, I latched the rope to her halter. It certainly took a few tries, but I finally got her. I handed her to Mickey and did some lead work with my girl. Sadly, about ten minutes later, Mickey sneezed. Raven freaked out and escaped from Mickey's grip. For many hours she was running around with a lead rope still hanging from her halter. I caught her again a few times but she pulled me so much that I had to let go. Eventually we stopped chasing her because if she kept running then she would trip herself on the rope. We had to wait until dinner time to unlatch it from her halter.

Phoenix did great with lead work. At first, when Raven would freak out and run past her, Phoenix would freak out and try to run as well. But it only took the slight pressure of me holding the lead line to stop her from running. After a few times of this happening, Phoenix stopped freaking out and just watched Raven as she ran past. Phoenix is certainly calmer than Raven. At one point I sat down in the pasture (not a recommended thing to do) and Phoenix bent her head for a kiss on the nose.

Later I decided to do a little photoshoot. There hadn't been any pictures of me with Phoenix on a lead line and I wanted to fix that. I just walked up to Phoenix and latched the lead rope to her halter without struggle. I walked her around posed for lots of pictures. While I was working with her, Cynthia suggested that I groom her. Usually I groom Phoenix while she's eating, but Cynthia said she wants me to do as much with Phoenix as I can without food. Phoenix did just fine. I groomed her all over and she hardly minded. She's such a good horse.

This is dangerous, but it sure made a cute picture. (I'm above 18 so I get to make the choice not to wear a helmet)

Learning the Ropes of Lead Ropes

Yesterday I did lead work with Phoenix and Raven along with Nora, another volunteer. This is the fourth time lead work has been done with these two mares. The first time was 6/5/13. We clipped the lead ropes on to their halters as they were eating and when they were done, a little bit of work was done with them. They both fought against the lead ropes. Since then, Phoenix had a lead rope on her a few times to keep in place as I cleaned her wound.

On 6/17/13, Sam, Nora, and I did put lead ropes on them again. Sam was able to catch Raven without food because she caught her while she drinking water. Phoenix, however, approached me and I just clipped it onto her halter. Phoenix struggled a little, but for the most part it was like walking a really big dog. Raven struggled a lot and is clearly not a fan of lead ropes.

On 6/26/13, Nora and I tried catching Raven and Phoenix without food, but they kept walking away. Raven didn't want us near her with the lead ropes and Phoenix follows her everywhere. We decided to catch them while they were eating. When I told this to Cynthia, she said that we need to work on not giving up and catching them without food. We did a little work with them and decided to really work on capturing them without food the next day. I walked Phoenix around the pasture for about five minutes and then let her go. Phoenix was like walking a dog that didn't really feel like going on a walk. Sometimes she would stop and I would have to really pull to get her to me. Raven seemed to be freaking out, but Nora said she did better than the last time.

The next day we spent nearly two hours in the pasture trying to catch Raven. We tried catching without food and once again they kept walking away. Nora decided that we should get a little bit of food, but only give it to them when they allow us to catch them. It worked perfectly with Phoenix. It didn't work with Raven. At first, she was interested in the bowl. However, she quickly moved away anytime we moved near her halter. Nora and I took turns with one of us going after Raven and the other working with Phoenix. We did grab Raven's halter a few times, but we never got the lead line on her. At one point, I crouched next to the bowl to make myself small and I looked at the ground so as not to put too much pressure on her. When she stuck her head in the bowl, I grabbed her halter. She pulled me into a standing position and jerked me around so much I had to let go. After that I decided that it was Nora's turn again.

We'll have to keep working with both Raven and Phoenix. Raven needs to be caught and Phoenix needs to work on backing up and getting out of my personal space. Phoenix also has a tendency to walk directly behind me instead of next to me. If she walks like that and gets scared and tries to run, I would get trampled. She's good about stopping when I stop, but she stops with her nose pressed into my back or my ear. When I try to get her to back up, she might move one hoof, but then she put it right back where it was. But, hey, at least I can catch her and walk her, which is more than what can be said for Raven.



Also, this past Tuesday, Raven and Phoenix decided to share their food with Sam and I. Here's some photos to give you a good laugh:

Introduction to Phoenix and Raven (But Mostly Phoenix)

On Monday 5/27/13, Trinity rescued two horses. These four-year-old mares had been unnamed and untouched by humans for their entire lives. Trinity volunteers named them Phoenix and Raven. Sam, a high school aged volunteer, decided to use their rehabilitation for the topic of her senior project.

Though Phoenix and Raven are Sam’s senior project, I've been out there helping her out. Two unsocialized and malnourished horses can be a lot to handle for one person. On the Wednesday after those two beauties showed up at Trinity, I started interacting with them. As the photographer for Trinity, I wasn't intending to be part of Sam’s senior project. I just wanted to get some good photos of our new friends. However, I spent a lot of time in the pasture with Sam and I took an instant liking to Phoenix, causing me to just become part of the project. Josh has been helpful, too. We even decided that we’re a little family. We decided that Sam is Raven’s mom (because Raven is her favorite), I’m Phoenix’s mom (because she’s my favorite), and Josh is the crazy uncle (well, he used the word “cool” rather than “crazy”).

I love working with Phoenix. I love Raven too, but I definitely interact with Phoenix more. During their meal times, Sam always feeds Raven and I always feed Phoenix. The girls have learned this very quickly and whenever we walk up with their food bowls they immediately go to their person. Raven is calm enough while eating that Sam can stand next to her and hug her neck and just love all over her. With Phoenix, I can pet her but it wasn't until Wednesday (6/5/13) that I could even try hugging her. Phoenix is sweet but eating just gets her so excited the she paws at the ground. The few times that I put her food bucket on the ground instead of holding it, she paws so hard that she dumps her food all over the dirt and grass. However, on Wednesday she stopped pawing long enough that I could stand next to her and slightly hug her neck. Of course, I couldn't do that for very long because I’d rather not get kicked. Thursday she allowed me to hug her multiple times and even seemed a little more careful as to how hard she was pawing. Friday, I put her food bowl on the ground and with her neck down I hugged her neck in way that I was leaning against her. It didn't faze her at all. I just love the small victories that Sam and I make with these girls each day.

On Tuesday (6/4/13) there was a victory for both Phoenix and I. I cleaned her wound! The previous day I had begun to clean her wound but I didn't have gloves and I got grossed out. Cynthia had to finish cleaning while I petted Phoenix and Sam held on to her halter. The wound on her leg is from a rusty bolt in a catch pen. It gets filled with pus and blood and is completely disgusting. However, on Tuesday I cleaned it all by myself! It helped that I had gloves and the wound seemed cleaner than the previous day. It was a victory that Phoenix allowed me to clean this wound while she ate dinner and nobody was holding her in place. It was also a victory that I could clean it without getting disgusted. She now lets me clean it every day as long as I have food with me. Cleaning it has helped it so much that I no longer have to clean it. The wound is now tiny and will soon be nothing more than a scar.

Sam and I have become very attached to these girls in a short time. The day the vet came (5/30/13) Sam and I got quite stressed out. It pained me to see where the tranquilizer gun had hit Phoenix and was gushing blood. It upset Sam to see Raven upset, kicking, and running in circles as the farrier trimmed her hooves. We both tried to remember that it was only temporary stress for the horses that was necessary for their own good, but we couldn't help but feel upset. They really have become our babies. Wednesday (6/5/13) we went to the movies thinking that we would be back in time to feed Raven and Phoenix their dinner. Some of the other volunteers teased us about our jealous reactions when we found out that other volunteers had already fed our babies. It’s been such a short time, but we sure do love them.

In my previous blog, I mentioned being bitten by a horse. The funny thing about the horse bite giving me some fear of horses, I’m now aiding in the rehabilitation of a horse that had no human interaction until two days before I met her. And which of the two did I build a relationship with? The one that bites. Phoenix doesn't bite in a malicious way, but she has tried to nibble on me when she’s annoyed or I have food on me. One day she tried nibbling on my arm after meal time. When I feed Phoenix, she always finds a way to get her food all over me. That particular day, she had wiped her lips on my arm. A little later I was sitting down in the pasture and she sniffed my arm and then tried nibbling on it. Another day, I followed her around the pasture to pet her without the distraction of food. I should have backed off after she first let me pet her, but I had continued to follow her around. She slowly moved forward with mouth open to bite but I just took a step back and she stopped. It was just her way of telling me that she’d had enough. Also, she sometimes bites objects after sniffing them. She’s like a toddler that wants to put everything new in her mouth. Humans are certainly becoming less new to her so I don’t think biting will really be an issue. It's been weeks since I've seen her biting or nibbling.

Raven and Phoenix are improving quite nicely. On 6/9/13, we went to the Animal Rescue Fair. It was a lot of fun, but I was happy to return to the barn when the fair was over. When Sam and I walked over to the pasture, they came right to us. We fed them dinner and afterwards we spent some time in the pasture to see if our mares would let us pet them without food. They stayed near us and we squatted down in front of them. Raven didn't do much other than sniff us. However, when I puckered my lips, Phoenix squished her face against mine for a kiss. For the most part, Phoenix just allows kisses when she’s distracted by food. It was nice for her to approach me instead of the other way around. Since then she's been very generous with kisses.

Another way they have improved is with grooming. I had been able to slightly groom Phoenix, but not very much. Cynthia, the lovely owner of Trinity, told me that she had been able groom Phoenix. I hadn't really tried grooming, but then on 6/12/13 I groomed her. She looked like she had been rolling in the dirt and I felt the need to clean her up. I groomed her during lunch and dinner. She let me brush her mane and use a curry comb from neck to butt. I haven’t tried this without the distraction of food, but I have a feeling that she would be pretty accepting of it.

As with most things, Raven is a little less accepting than Phoenix. She allows Sam to brush her mane while she eats, but she doesn't tolerate more than that. She is a strong headed horse and a little less willing to trust humans. The fact that she is less willing to trust, just makes Sam’s progress with her so much more impressive.  Raven is very protective of herself as well as Phoenix, so even though she won’t let us touch her very much, she trusts us just enough to allow us to touch Phoenix. Her trust of humans is growing slower than that of Phoenix, but she is becoming slightly more trusting each day. Friday (6/14/13) was the first day that Raven really let Sam touch her without the distraction of food. She has let Sam touch her slightly before, but on that day she let Sam rub her face and pet her more than ever before. Sam is really starting to win her over.

One of the issues with these girls that we still need to do some work on is food aggression. At first Phoenix would go between the two food bowls, but she allowed us to get a lead line on her to keep her at her own bowl. It didn't take many times of us doing that before Phoenix understood that she needed to eat her own food. Raven, however, is still having issues understanding that. Phoenix is the skinnier of the two. She eats slowly, savoring every bite. In contrast, Raven eats quickly and then rushes over to Phoenix’s bowl to finish it off. Friday (6/14/13), we put rocks in Raven’s food bowl in an attempt to slow her down. Animals generally go for the center of the food. With the rocks in her bowl, she has to work her way around them to get to the food thereby slowing down the eating process. It certainly helped, but it didn't completely solve the problem. Now we've stopped putting the rocks in and instead we correct Raven. We shoo her away and she's getting a little better about leaving Phoenix alone. However, they still need to have supervised feeding to make sure Phoenix gets all of her food. The food issue is still a work in progress, but not everything can be solved quickly.

Both Raven and Phoenix have made a lot of improvement in such short time and they continue to improve more and more each day. I can’t wait to see how they improve next!

Phoenix (left) and Raven (right) on 6/17/13

Phoenix 6/3/13

Phoenix's wound 5/29/13

Phoenix's wound 6/18/13

Me cleaning her wound

This is where Phoenix was hit by the tranquilizer gun on the day of the vet visit

Me hugging Phoenix

Me kissing Phoenix

Me grooming Phoenix