Waken the Bacon

I got up this morning just like I would if I was going to work, but instead I went to the farm with my Mom and Maggie. Day off!

Official Records Information:
Misty, 8-16-10, morning, 45 minutes

I went out with a carrot stick and halter. Mom and Connor were already playing, and Maggie was just bringing Ginger into the North Pasture to join. Misty was behind the corn crib, I assumed, because I could not see her anywhere. So, I walked into the corn crib and whistled, then I crept forward to see where she was. Through a bush, I could see her standing there. I whistled again and backed away (she never spotted me through the bush) and waited. After a few moments, she came in, ears up and walked right to me. I gave her a cookie and we stood together and said good morning.

I took the halter out and began to do approach and retreat with it hanging under my arm. She was putting her nose behind it again, so I worked with that with her until she put her nose down in it. She put it on! I stood with her for a while.

In the process of haltering, Misty had backed out of the corn crib. After our nothing time, I stepped away from Misty and watched my mom. Then Misty came up behind me and I gave her a cookie and itched her. I put more distance between us this time and watched. My mom said to me "By the time you catch her, I will be done." I replied that I had already caught her, and she walked up to me. I itched her itchy spot under her belly back by her udders, a place, I thought happily, that she used to hate me touching. Now, I tied the savvy string that was on the carrot stick to her halter so she had a carrot stick/savvy string line. That way, I had a safety net, because Misty had not had breakfast and horses were coming and going, so it was more likely that my draw would not be as strong as last night (meaning she might not come back if she left). She followed me to the next part of our session with slack in the stick/line combo.

I wanted to do some more lead by the tail. There was a cone and the big pedestal nearby, so I decided I would back her to the cone then back her past the pedestal and drive her forward. First I had to teach her to drive forward. I got it! When she backs up when I am trying drive her forward, I put my fingers out in bunny rabbit form (so my hand looks like a rabbit with two ears being the two fingers) and point the fingers at her but. It turns me into the porcupine she does not want to lean on. She understood that pretty quick.

When I turned her, I used the carrot stick to support if I needed to, which I sometimes did. Misty was also not as light on her tail phase, but she was very good at backing up and not turning around. The cone went well, but then I had to accept her try when she went to the cone again instead of to the pedestal. I did not give her a cookie, but I did not make her feel wrong by correcting her. I rewarded her try with relaxation and tried to set things up more clearly. I had thrown the cone away from us after she touched it the first time, and she had gone to it again. This time, I started with her nose at it so it would be clear we were not backing to it. That worked much better. We made it to the pedestal, I turned her with her tail so she was facing it straight on, and clucked to ask her forward, as well as raising my energy. She started to back so I held my fingers in front of me and let her run into them. She immediately went "Oh, yeah!" in her body and touched the pedestal. I waited while she thought, licked and chewed, then she stepped on. Cookie!

I took her out to graze for 5 minutes then we fed all the horses.

Natural Horsewoman Out.