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FRED
7th Nov 2005, 09:31 PM
A few years ago I met a very young horse with no name,.{I named him Dakota because I was totally sure.....about his future}
Well this weekend D should have been with us, but for confusion over transport and loading,we are very patient folk.
We spent a little time with him on Saturday and on Sunday I visited him again by myself.
He has just done so little,my caution was a top priority, bearing in mind he is just four and half years old too.

How rewarding a quiet time can be in a wide open space,he clearly had great interest in me,something we both shared.
I groomed him without tying him up shock horror,with no fuss he stood like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, never for a moment did he want to move away.
Next,to see if he would lift his feet,the fronts 1st, he seemed unsure and unbalanced but lifted fine.Now the rears,yes without fuss he lifted his back feet when just lightly ONCE taping on his legs with my fingers, ok nice I thought.Give him another fuss.
Next to lead him without a lead rope {tut tut},walk on I said with a cluck for encouragement ,he just went where ever I went,stopped when I stopped walking,keeping about a metre from my shoulder,interesting I thought.
So I went back and got the lead rope,he was happy with that too.
Next part, to see if he will back up,he did but was unsure,1st half a step,them one,then two,nice I thought,he seemed ok about this too
Next part of my plan,to see those feet again,they do need some attention.He lifts his feet without fuss,but was a little unsteady.
So we go for another stroll and suddenly a fire work explodes,{yup even at 11am there at it} I did expect he would make a dash to the end of the field ,but I'm expecting wrong,he stays very alert,but near me,mmm I didn't think the book should read like this.
So I give him one more scratch and leave him be for a while with a carrot.

Then his owner turns up,erm this could have been the most embarrassing moment of my life because I had been assured it was ok to spend some time with D,but someone hadn't relayed the message I would be there,anyway,He was fine about me visiting,but can you imagine how embarrassing this could have been,,,plus I was now being told this horse has never lifted his rear feet for anyone, ever, he's very spooky and flighty too and then, he has a dislike/mistrust of most men.
Well I had to pinch my self to believe what I'm hearing I can tell you.
I said to my niece later,do you think what happened today was just the honey moon{if you understand}she laughed and said well its all a promising start.
I'm very pleased,so till next time when we hope to move him,a very special day for me and D.
I hope this re kindles those treasured memories of your early years around horses.
Fred.

ANN H
8th Nov 2005, 01:50 PM
Hi Fred,

Sounds like you're made for each other. Looking forward to seeing some photos and getting updates on your progress. Its lovely when you realise your horse trusts you and you have that bond.

Good luck.

katieB
8th Nov 2005, 02:02 PM
Nice to hear about such trust in a young horse.
So is Dakota a horse you have bought and you are hoping to move him to where you are based soon?

KarinUS
8th Nov 2005, 02:36 PM
What's going on? Are you buying D? :eek:

FRED
8th Nov 2005, 04:27 PM
:) We have agreed to buy D,he should have moved at the weekend,so fingers crossed this Sunday.
He will stay with my niece and her other horse,she has done a great job with Ato and he's Dakota's half brother.
Im sure we are going to have a lot of fun.D is 15.3h and its going to be next spring time when we get down to backing etc,the plan is we will also go down the shoe-less and treeles route,I haven't decided on bitless.I have wanted to buy a fjord,and maybe one day this will happen too.
Im chuffed to bits having missed Jay and Bonnie more than words could ever say, there are no shortage of horses I can ride,just want to move forward :)

KarinUS
8th Nov 2005, 04:34 PM
Well congratulations, Fred and D! :)

Tim will be excited to hear about him, too, especially with a name like Dakota. We need more pictures though. :)

FRED
9th Nov 2005, 04:40 PM
:) thats why I named him Dakota years ago,the Sioux word for friend or allie.
Will keep you posted.

NoviceNic
9th Nov 2005, 10:40 PM
That was so beautiful. Reminded me of when I met Captain. I went into his field to see him and as I shook with nerves at the side of him he groomed me. Talk about love at first sight. My special moment with my daughter pony is when she insists on having a kiss goodnight most nights. :D

pedantic
10th Nov 2005, 06:15 AM
Great stuff, keep us all posted with updates and photos ;)

FRED
14th Nov 2005, 07:21 PM
Ok,I have no idea if this photo will work,Dakota waiting for the transport on Sunday.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/Frederickjames/951d4c85.jpg..

FRED
14th Nov 2005, 07:24 PM
I see it works :D I will be back soon with a report on how Dakotas move went :)

KarinUS
14th Nov 2005, 07:28 PM
He's got a big smile. Where's yours?

FRED
14th Nov 2005, 11:42 PM
From ear to ear :) my niece may have some...yuk, that may turn up here .
We have had a very busy time moving Dakota and its such a relief he's home.
He was brilliant for me on Saturday and on Sunday morning I spent two and half hours with him before the transport arrived.I spent most of that time just siting in a nice sunny place and D was happy to stay very close by,he was just being curious and nosey about me,if I walked about,he calmly followed by my side.
I loaded him all by myself,it took all of ten minutes of calm and trust, in the box he went,its only the second time he has ever moved,I was very proud of him.He had no idea, this job, Ive never done before ;)
Because of his young age and so little ground work,I did not use a lead rope,he was free to back off the ramp,when he did he I just reasured him,he never once thought to bomb off to the end of the field,I said keep the ramp down till I was happy he wasn't going to panic once in the box.

He was calm at his new destination,but very unsure,he took his time to leave the box, its clear he has the most unconditional trust in me, although his previous owners have had moments with D ,were starting with a clean sheet and this seems to be making a big difference already.

In time we introduced D to Ato his half brother,oh boy they squealed some at each other, over a sturdy gate.
After about 20 minutes we decided that things looked good,so the pair were reunited,a few heart stopping moments to be seen, nothing nasty,just rough and tumble horse play.
We stayed close by for an hour just to keep an eye on them,there fine.
We kept checking back and after sunset,you could see the silhouette of two horses grooming each other in the moonlight :) He looks very very happy.
I think his fittness is going to come on leaps and bounds now.

pedantic
15th Nov 2005, 06:22 AM
lovely :)

Imp
15th Nov 2005, 06:37 PM
What a heartwarming horsey tale (pun intended :rolleyes: ) and with pictures too... keep 'em coming :D

Lynda

larri
16th Nov 2005, 10:51 AM
Blimey Fred - How on earth did I miss this thread :eek:

Congratulations - and wishing you and Dakota many, many happy years in partnership together

So pleased for you, the bond you already have with him is inspirational, fancy coming to work some of your calming magic on Safi??? :D

Peace
17th Nov 2005, 01:27 PM
How wonderful.:) I'm very happy for you.

Good for you for your loading technique! Isn't it amazing how some folks are willing to spend a half hour shouting and pulling and chasing a horse but would never dream of spending ten minutes asking a horse to load? I hope you start a trend.:)

And I'm glad the boys like one another.

FRED
18th Nov 2005, 10:19 PM
Would love to meet so many horses from here Larri.The deal was we took him over on delivery,but my gut feeling was no way..absolutely no way.I would have sat days with him,if needed.
Peace.
Rightly or wrongly there was a bucket with a delicious apple and two carrots in the box.Im very proud of D,I know there will be testing times,but we will always finish shared time on a good note.His passport is such a laugh,but theres some very nice breeds in him,the breed societies woulds have a fit,but thats not D's fault,or mine.