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.
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.
