I finally have some time to read these posts!
Tiaki - thanks for explaining your relationship with your horses! It was very helpful
. Abbey sounds much like Fanny in how they'd like to spend their time. Fanny foundered six months after I brought her home, because the place she was boarding decided to use round bales of oat hay for the summer! Fanny never had oats in her life, and here she was, spending her day with her head in a round bale full of it, so it's not surprising that she got sick. The vet said it was the early stages of laminitis, and she recovered quickly (and we had to move to another barn), but a barefoot trimmer I started using about a year later said that Fanny most likely foundered as well.
Watching Fanny graze non-stop, yet not exercising her, reminds me of watching a family member live an unhealthy lifestyle and doing nothing about it. Yes, she moves around a lot in the area she's in with the other horses, but I'd like to use exercise as an enjoyable time for both of us to bond, so I've got to be a decisive leader like you
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Volker - I'm glad I'm not alone in my confusion!
I've enjoyed reading the 'conversation' between you and Donald about your horses! Fanny is like Mucki in that she likes to stay close to the treats. She isn't pushy, but she just likes to be nearby. If she noses around for a treat and I ignore her, she will drop her head and wait paitiently because she knows that will earn her a treat.
I have done a few things with clicker training, and Fanny responds well to it. I don't know if it's good or bad, but I haven't been consistent with it or any one type of 'method' because just when I'd start something, I'd read about something else I'd like to try. It becomes a matter of trying something new in case "this is it!!", this is the one that fits us best! I read a lot, and I try a few things here and there, but not really enough to confuse Fanny. No, it's just me getting confused!
I have spent a lot of time searching, and I am learning that sometimes I am so busy in that process that I am missing the simplicity of what is right in front of me. Fanny knows what she can and can't do naturally. I just need to learn to watch her and listen to her.
Josepha - thank you for your advice
...hard as it is! There are so many areas in which we get along so well, and yet in the areas of riding (and her trusting me while I'm up there) we really struggle. When I was watching your "free show" that your horses put on for you, on YouTube, I noticed another of your videos about Joya. I think it was in the third lesson that I watched, in which Joya was putting her shoulder into you, and you patiently moved her out and away from you. Watching Joya's behaviour was like watching Fanny! She is good for the most part, but when she does things like push her shoulder into me, I just don't know how to best deal with it. Some people will say to give her a sharp whack on the shoulder with a whip, but I'd rather not. I will have to watch as many of your videos with Joya as I can.
I have so many more questions, but perhaps I should start a diary, rather than wandering off the topic of tack
By the way, yes, the book I'm reading IS the one by Kip Mistral and Ellen Schuthof-Lesmeister. Volker, the book is called, "Horse Training In-Hand - A Modern Guide to Working from the Ground".