Silke N Me

Silke has been doing so great, Yesterday we did lots of ground training, We started by playing the catching game and she did a wonderful "at liberty" follow the leader. she is so much more focused than my other horses, she watches every move I make. I did a little of the beginnings of ground driving her with long lines. she didn't like it at first and then she realized it was OK and she dropped her head and liked and chewed. I also put the big western saddle on and put a rope on the stirrip and sent in a circle, at first she got really worried and then she realized that as long as she moved forward nicely I would stop and release the stirrup.
 She is finally accepting the rope touching her in all areas with out flinching so much. She has accepted the big long lunge whip hitting the ground and whirring around her on all four sides and above her she also accepts it moving away from her as she follows. The desensitizing is going really well. She also has a nice balance of moving away from pressure with out being too worried.  With the saddle on I brought her to the mounting bench and climbed all over her and went up and down in both stirrups so I could do it on each side equally. I took the saddle off and sent her sideways to the left and to the right. she now will back up about 30 feet in a fairly straight line. We ended on a very good note and I kept her tied to the blocker tie while I rode my other 2 horses. She stood tied very nicely, no pawing or calling out. she went back out to the pasture afterward.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl and Silke

Silke N Me

Hi all,
Silke got her feet trimmed and If you were standing by watching you would not have known who she was, she was perfect for the farrier! he could have done her without me there! I also wormed her she seemed to like it! her coat is getting so short and it is very soft and Silky. she gets extra flax and Equine Challenge (I get it from my farrier, Jerry Huntsinger) and oats, and a little bit of black oil sunflower seeds, she loves them. about 1/4 cup of each.  She has daily turnout with my other Iceys and my Mini.
She is doing so well. Just a little update,

Cheryl & Silke

silke's vacation is over!

Hi,
Silke has been out with the herd for quite a while now and it is time to get back to work, if the weather will cooperate, it is April and we have had thunder and lightening and hail almost daily. Not to mention 30 degree weather. We usually have 70 degrees this time of year. Enough about the weather I am sure someone out there can top that story.
I went out to the pasture and Silke came up to me and then turned and left, so I got some treats and went back out... she came, got the treats and left. so I made it a game of see who can be the first to leave. and so I would leave before her and she started to follow me. Well you know the rest of the story. she finally let me halter her and we went to the oval pen and I turned her loose. I asked her back and she followed me all over the pen. she is so nice she knows the difference between her pasture with the herd and being with me. I am her human herd and she respects the relationship, she remembers everything we last did and she is even better than the last time I took her out. I love this horse. I am brushing her all over and she is standing with no lead rope, she loves to be groomed. she is also letting me pick up all 4 feet (still no lead rope) I am so happy with this horse's progress. She is amazing. Tomorrow she will get her feet trimmed again. the really exciting thing is that my friend and I pulled her hair to send in for DNA. I have all the paperwork and now I need to send in the hair to confirm what Derick has told me. I am so excited! by the way I was worried about pulling her hair, but the weird thing about it....she liked it! I think she thought we were just grooming really hard.
As soon as I know anything, I will let everyone else know too.
I hope to start ground driving her next, but first I want her to accept the lead rope touching her all over without flinching.
Thank you for listening,
Cheryl & Silke