New Girl in the Barn......

[domane]

Today I caused mayhem and disruption..... :o

Indy has been moved to my old yard - the big one with all the facilities (the EXPENSIVE facilities!!!!) She is there for a one week "exposure" as she has led quite an insular life and I think that the comings and goings of everyone during the Christmas hols will be excellent for her socialisation.

A friend trailered her over for me around 11am and I settled her in (next door but one to Breeches' Rosie ;) ) gave her a pat, a carrot and left her neighing loudly and spinning round looking at all the new things she could see.

Went back at 3 to check on progress and was met by a few people on the way to the 3rd barn along... comments like "Blimey, your little one is vocal" and "I got bit!!!" (she nips when stressed :o ) Decided that best plan would be a short walk round to show her the place.... aided largely by the dually that HairyCob has lent me (THANKS Claire!!!!) Indy was SOOOO excited by all the horses, people and things to see.... BUT is absolutely terrified of monster-chickens!!! :eek: :p She pranced about, ogling everything she spotted, jogging on the spot, squealing and neighing loudly "LOOK at me!! Come and play!!!!" *fizz*fizz*!!!!

Got her back to her box and there was a definite air of unrest amongst the other horses, fidgeting and lots of movement.... :o :o :o Most of them have been in that barn a long time so they are usually settled and chilled, I think the new kid on the block unsettled them a tad. Coupled with the fact that the fields are still badly waterlogged so they are all in most of the time, I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide for causing all this unrest.... hopefully she will settle quickly...

Tomorrow I plan to crack on with lungeing and long-lining - two 15 minute sessions per day - morning and night and to see how far we get in the time I have there.... not sure if she will be ready or settled enough to reach backing, but I hope that it will do her good to know what goes on in that big wide world outside of her field.....

Will keep you posted..... ;) Thank God it's only for a week......

(PS I fear they are in for a sleepless night in her barn tonight..... :rolleyes: )

[horse__obsessed]

hehehe:D

[Tots N Dots]

sounds most ammusing, do you think a week will be enough? :D

[domane]

sounds most ammusing, do you think a week will be enough? :D
Oh absolutely not Bev BUT it's all I can afford, it coincides with my week off work AND I firmly believe that it's better than nothing. Depending on funds and trailer-lift options I may do it again in a couple of months as I would like her to get used to being moved around. I'm hoping to get lungeing and long-lining cracked so she gets a better idea of what's expected of her. It's going to be intense for her and then back to the relative peace and quiet of a field next to the M4 :p whilst she digests and thinks "What the hell just happened???" with crossed-eyes..... :D :D :D

[Tots N Dots]

whilst she digests and thinks "What the hell just happened???" with crossed-eyes..... :D :D :D
Oh I feel like that all the time :o

bless her :D will do her good, good luck :D

[Imp]

Bless her cotton socks (does she have socks?) :)

I'm looking forward to hearing how the week progresses, at least you'll have two of your challenges in one place :p

How's Chez getting along? :D

[NoviceNic]

How is Indie settling today?? I am sure that she will be good for her Mum. Just a thought but if you have a few horsey friends with fields and stables you could always ask them if you can trailer her down for just a day to get her used to be at other places. Then it wont cost you livery charges. :D

[domane]

Hi Nic, thanks for asking.... Indy is doing really well. The move seems to have added a new dimension to our relationship as I'm ashamed to admit I was still quite nervy of her and she of course had picked up on that so we were in this perpetual "I'm in charge"/"No - I'M in charge" thing which usually finished in her giving me a nip and I would retreat :o However, because I am her "comfort blanket" ie, the only thing she knows, at the new yard, she has been really sweet natured since I moved her and because of that I have got loads more confident with her and she is now settling down to my more "alpha" stance.... although she is still soooooooooo excited by all the noises of hooves that go one around her..... :rolleyes:

We have been lungeing a few times and that's really coming on (starting to respond to voice commands) and today, abley-assisted by the lovely Sooty, I attempted long-lining for the first time. I was a tad worried about this as Indy is particularly sensitive round her quarters and she had a couple of minor panics but I kept to just following her with loose-ish lines so she gets the feel of something "tickling" her sides PLUS it was the first time she has had the sensation of reins either side of her head (not attached to her bit) and after a couple of hiccups we managed a few respectable circuits on both reins, with Sooty leading her and lots of praise from the pair of us. I was using the borrowed Dolly-dually and managed a "halt" at the end all on our own with rein pressure. She is used to nose-pressure as I ask her to "back" this way.

Gosh I hope I'm doing this all right, I'm so nervous of getting something wrong :confused: .... I MUST try and get some photos.....

On the whole though, considering she is so young and has never spent time on such a large livery yard, I am absolutely amazed at how settled she is in only three days.... I never imagined she would be like this (with dotted "excited moments" and neighs of course!!! :p )