Post Thanksgiving Relapse for the Mustangs

We were putting in a new woodstove in the guest wing so I didn't have much time to spend with the animals. I doubt if they really missed me while I was gone to Mom's. On the way back, I picked up a new kind of horse treat. Rita spit them out.

Both Rita and Cisco had relapsed in their training. Rita snorts more but Cisco snorts just as loud. It's not a nice horse sound and it almost always means that the horse is about to exit the vicinity. They had a hard time coming up to me. Cisco wouldn't allow the rope to be on his neck. Rita wouldn't let me pet her right side. Isolation is generally prescribed and then you have to just spend enough time with them that they remember that the human is the source of all good things. Within 10 minutes they were each sticking their heads through the rope loop and letting me scratch the scary part.

This week, Cisco gets to try something new in the way of learning to tie. I picked up a surcingle at the Socorro pawn shop. After he consents to wear it, I will run the lead rope through a side-ring and tie it to his tail, with just a slight bend to his neck. He can jerk his head back and bolt, if he likes, but it won't get him untied. The surcingle will ensure that the rope stays along his side and doesn't get tangled under his feet or flipped over his back. He is not going to like it. But, I will have stepped out of the corral and it will be between him and his tail.

If it works well, I think Rita will be due for a treatment too.

Yrs,
Patricia