Sparks Fly for New Years.

Last day of the year finds me starting yet another horse project. This one another mustang from the Tres Piedras herd, which are more purely Iberian. He belongs to a ranching family, nominally the property of a 12 year old girl, who has had him for a year and has yet to name him. I am calling him The Spark Keeper, or Sparky for short.

I've been documenting Chaco Bay's progress on YouTube. He follows me around the yard, comes when I call and lets me pick up and examine his hooves. I haven't put a rope on him yet, but I've trained him to come touch the rope with his neck. I can touch him anywhere with my hands and most anywhere with a pole. Sometimes I forget that he is still wild, but when strangers come in the yard, his wildness shows itself again.

I wasn't going to start Sparky out the same way. I thought I should use something more traditional, but then when I looked into his eyes, I couldn't think of a reason to try to make him less afraid by doing things that would scare him. I've been out this morning feeding him his breakfast, a handful at a time, through the fence. My toes are now frozen as a result.

Sparky's owner and her sister are coming to spend a week training horses with me. A pair of 12 year old girls is going to be so much fun!!! We will be sure to take lots of video clips for the parents, but you might want to check them out too.

Link to My YouTube channel

I am also trying to get people training with positive reinforcement to share videos through a YouTube group. You might like to check them out if not post your own. If you want to share a training video using other techniques, that would be great too. The main thing is to show something about training. Link to Equine Training Group on YouTube