Well.....the first five min today in the stall was me just lovin on Bentley. Look at him! How could you not? I'm still learning his personality. For gods sake he's only been here two days. But its a great excuse to love on him.
After the inital scratch session was over, he loves to be scratched, we started our baby steps. Now obviously I'm going to teach him how to lead. No shit right? Well, for the life of me I couldnt figure out where to start. I had a total brain fart, omg, wtf, what do I do, where should I start, am I doing this right moment. Total panick mode. So I croutched in the middle of the stall and just watched him. My brain was getting in the way. I always think way too damn much!! Just freakin go on damn auto pilot and you'll be fine. BUT I CAN NEVER FIND THAT SWITCH!! It always has to go on its own. I have to know no one is watching. So damn frustraiting!
Well I finally got my head outta my ass. Bentley looked over and gave me a soft lil nicker. Melted my damn heart instantly. So we took baby steps. Well I took them Haha. In about five min I had him heeding on his right side. He wasnt too sure about me being at his shoulder at first while we were walking. But in a few strides he had his head low and relaxed. We ended with a few down transitions and two back up steps. When I turned and took a step toward him and he took one back I called it quits. I got the back step with no hesitation. End on a good note woman. So all in all the "training" session was only five min at that. I figure he's still a baby. He needs time to still be a baby. His attention span is just about five min. So we wont push it past that. Lil bit at a time and consistant. Thats my goal. So far......its workin.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Bentley comes home
Yesterday Bentley was finaly brought home. I was anxious to see how he was going to handle his first ever tailer ride. Not to mention his first time away from mom. He couldnt hear her, see her, smell her, and to top things off Tecate would be screaming her head off (shes my QH mare). I anxiously awaited to see what would happen.
To be honest I was expecting a living terror to come off of the trailer. That is a ton for a five month old to take in. I was pleased with how he acted. Tecate was running around screaming at him(as I expected). Both goats where right there with her hollering(they never shut up anyways...why would this be any different). I figured he would B-line it for Tecate. Instead he did a power trot to his stall with the breeders husband right along side him. After about two min he was calm enough to nibble on the hay sitting in the feeder.
Now I would like to add that I was a very good girl. I didn't, no matter how bad I was dying too, go into the stall and start bugging him. I waited two hours before going outside to really inspect him.
He warmed up rather well to me. Enough that I could start rubbing on him. One thing this lil boy loves, and will stand forever for, is to be scratched. I started at his wither and moved up his neck. Eyes stayed soft and lip was hanging. I rubbed his ears and ran my hands all over his face. Not one moment of hesitation on his part. I worked my way back to his hind end. Along the way I rubbed his girth area, chest, belly, and his legs. I stopped when I got to his knees as he started to stiffen up. It was his first day and I thought we did damn well with him staying calm and dozing off. I was expecting at least a lil cow kick. Not once did he even threaten a nibble, kick, or bite.
With that I called it a day and left him with his dinner.
To be honest I was expecting a living terror to come off of the trailer. That is a ton for a five month old to take in. I was pleased with how he acted. Tecate was running around screaming at him(as I expected). Both goats where right there with her hollering(they never shut up anyways...why would this be any different). I figured he would B-line it for Tecate. Instead he did a power trot to his stall with the breeders husband right along side him. After about two min he was calm enough to nibble on the hay sitting in the feeder.
Now I would like to add that I was a very good girl. I didn't, no matter how bad I was dying too, go into the stall and start bugging him. I waited two hours before going outside to really inspect him.
He warmed up rather well to me. Enough that I could start rubbing on him. One thing this lil boy loves, and will stand forever for, is to be scratched. I started at his wither and moved up his neck. Eyes stayed soft and lip was hanging. I rubbed his ears and ran my hands all over his face. Not one moment of hesitation on his part. I worked my way back to his hind end. Along the way I rubbed his girth area, chest, belly, and his legs. I stopped when I got to his knees as he started to stiffen up. It was his first day and I thought we did damn well with him staying calm and dozing off. I was expecting at least a lil cow kick. Not once did he even threaten a nibble, kick, or bite.
With that I called it a day and left him with his dinner.
Intro (lame heading I know)
As some of you may know, I bought a five month old dun QH colt. Bentley, as we call him, stands 3'6" at the withers (Who knew show jumping class would come in handy for that). His registered name is Shiny Smart Formula. For those of you who know a bit about QH breeding....He's out of a Shining Spark and Smart Chic Olena Mare. ANYWAYS....he's damn purdy if I dont say so myself. I must also give credit where credit is due. Shan Bowe helped me find this lil bugger. Three days later I had a down payment on him. Haha
So basically this blog is going to be my training log. If I try and write this down I'll lose the journal. I know I wont ever lose my computer so here I sit blogging. So anyone whos bored enough to read my ups and downs working with this colt....enjoy. I'm sure they will be entertaining more often than not. Or scary...depending on your point of view. Either way if anyone reads this or not.......I pray I do right by this lil colt. My Bentley Butt.
So basically this blog is going to be my training log. If I try and write this down I'll lose the journal. I know I wont ever lose my computer so here I sit blogging. So anyone whos bored enough to read my ups and downs working with this colt....enjoy. I'm sure they will be entertaining more often than not. Or scary...depending on your point of view. Either way if anyone reads this or not.......I pray I do right by this lil colt. My Bentley Butt.
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