Least Resistance Training Concepts
Project Activity Album
Knightsen's Activities
OLYMPIC WILD HORSE & BURRO PROJECT
Part Four

8-23-01

This was the first day of work. Mentors Jenny Morganstern, Mike Kerson and Nancy Kerson participated. Each horse was worked about two hours.

4784: Knightsen's Frontier Spirit

"Big K" was worked primarily using a sliding neck loop. He tended to back away when approached or use his large size to crowd us when he perceived pressure. The sliding neck loop allowed us to check this backing up business. We could rotate toward his hip and draw his head toward us to get him to decide to walk forward.

Once this avoidance pattern was interrupted we could make progress with the horse. At the end of the session he would give to relatively light pressure and leave some float in the line. We could also get within an inch of touching him without his wanting to leave.

Giving to light pressure; Mike on the line.
Moving quietly forward.

2262: Siskiyou Midnight Magic

Magic progressed a great deal today. He started out in a really bad mood when some "grazers" were stealing his hay from outside his pen. He was pinning his ears at them and transferred that same behavior to us when we stepped inside the pen. We locked up the grazers and started over. He still player "big, tough horse" for a couple of minutes until he learned that all it got him was being chased away.

As soon as he figured out that "I'm OK, you're OK" was the best approach to get along, he faced up and started interacting with us.

His halter had worn a sore in his right cheek bone so the first objective was to completely desensitize his face and head so we could remove and replace the halter. Then we replaced the web halter with a soft rope halter. Mike and Nancy worked the horse including getting him used to being haltered, being brushed, tolerating fly wipes and getting ointment applied to his halter sore as well as a couple of bites. He no longer needs to be left with his halter on.

Desensitizing his head
Even over the eyes
Halter practice
Ointment and fly repellant wipe
Nancy gets involved and
adds some rope work.

2829: Lassen Mountain Dusty

Dusty would halter, was learning to lead, got his cuts and sores doctored and was wiped with fly repellant. The girls even tried some clicker targeting and he sure caught on to that! We could also get our hands in his mouth while he stayed quiet. He's the brightest of the three, probably partly due to his age and emotional maturity.

Jenny and Nancy teaching Dusty to give to pressure
Getting around those touchy ears
Nodding off
Rubs from both sides
Click targeting

The burros received a little work today and seemed more relaxed around and interactive with people. The alley should be completed tomorrow so that they can be sorted and worked one at a time.

Continue to Part Five

Meet the Animals!

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BLM Land Use
 Federal regulations require multiple use of Federal lands where appropriate. Management approaches to wild horse herds must accommodate a thriving ecological balance and preserve the multiple use relationships between the horse herds, other plants and animals and reasonable human interests.

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