Im finally getting regular time with Mana! Aside from putting a halter on him a few days after he arrived, Id done very little other than feed him by hand, sponge bath him in the yards & pat him, loose in the paddock. Ive been hit with a lot of extra challenges that I hadnt planned for, that have conspired against Mana time, but were still headed in the right direction & I couldnt have a better horse, so Im optimistic well get there! Meanwhile, time is cracking on! Equidays is looming & Mana is weeks behind everyone else! This week, Mana has consolidated his leading, is picking up his front feet & is letting me brush right down his front legs. He can handle the rope all over his body, he moves away from pressure laterally as well as forward & back. He only wears a halter when were working together now & is 100% reliable to catch in the round pen. He can cope with me jumping up & down next to him & leaning over him & he can now handle 3 or 4 people at once in his space, feeding & patting him, & isnt having a coronary if someone other than me touches him. He couldnt deal with that last weekend. We attempted clapping today. Mana was NOT impressed! LOL Even starting quietly wasnt going to cut it initially but in true Mana style, once hed a had a bit of time to analyse it, he decided he could maybe cope. I have learned a lot more about Mana since Ive started asking things of him. Hes not as brave as he tries so hard, to make out. Hes very body aware & confident to be touched most places but change (e.g. the new yard layout) & noises are things that really worry him. Hes a bit of an energy conservationist & a thinker. He also tries VERY hard to please so I have to be constantly watching for the difference between him allowing something & accepting something. Thankfully, there doesnt seem to be too much time between the former & the latter, as long as hes given the time to figure it out for himself. Hes a very smart cookie! Id really appreciate LOTS of visitors over the next few weeks please! Mana needs to learn about crowds of people & hustle & bustle. Ill be teaching him to float as soon as I get my vehicle back from its very long stay at the mechanics (one of those extra challenges mentioned above) so we can start getting out places. The long range forecast looks good for gelding & the dentist in the next couple of weeks too.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:41:32 +0000
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