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

Silke and her new herd.

Hi,
Today I called Silke in the pasture and she ran over to me and let me halter her with no hesitation. when we got to the Big arena she hesitated a little because she realized she was leaving her new herd, but she listened and did what I asked. She is a little bit more assertive today on the ground work, so I will have to really pay close attention to details to see if she is ready to do any riding. She is a little frisky, but she is very focused, she seems to be very much "with" me. She goes where I go and is not easily distracted by other horses or people etc. The Farrier is here and making lots of noise around the corner with another horse who's getting shoes. Silke doesn't notice, some of the other horses are reacting. I am taking her into the oval pen and I will at least see if I can get on her back. she is still responding nicely so I will take off the halter and lead and do some play at liberty with her and see if she wants to run or stay with me.
 I don't know how many times I have said this, but Silke is amazing! (to me) she is just staying with me and following me around, I love this horse! I am able to slap the ground with the stick and string and she is staying with me. she will also let it touch her gently all over! I send her out and she does a nice circle around me and asks to come to me! The Farrier is really close to us and she is ignoring him and I am able to line her up to the mounting bench and she just drops her head and I get on and crawl all over her, she is very accepting and is standing quietly and contently. We end the day with lots of love and rubbing her all over with me sliding off of both sides and getting on from both sides. If the weather would cooperate the (slow and progressive) riding program will begin for Silke, I can't wait. She is very much ready.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl and Silke

Silke and the herd

Well,
Yesterday was awesome, I rode Feather and Bear and then I got Silke and she was so good she seems to like everything we do. I worked on all the ground work and we did everything in the big arena with 2-3 other people and their horses in the arena with us and we ended the day with her standing quietly at the mounting bench while I climbed all over her while other people rode their horses walk trot and canter passing us. Silke doesn't seem to even notice the other horses and riders and my dog runs past every once in a while. She is so level headed and sensible, I am very fortunate to have such wonderfully calm horses. Did I tell you that she loaded into the trailer last Monday as if she had done it her whole life.
Today I gave my Daughter and Granddaughter lessons on Bear and Feather, it was wonderful! they both did so well, now I know why I own 3 Iceys, I need to get Silke ready for trail riding and horse camping this summer.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl and Silke

Silke's new herd

So, the newest member of Silke's herd is a 2 legged member.
While I was gone (At the Icelandic play day) yesterday, my husband, Mike decided to "bond" with Silke by turning her out with the herd, it was shaky at first, but she was happy to be out. he also figured out how to turn her back in again. she is not quite ready to let him touch her too much, just enough to get the job done. He also volunteered to let her out again today. I got to watch from the kitchen window,  this is also progress for my husband, he is enjoying the challenge. Thank you Mike.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl & Silke

Silke's Progress March 2011

Hi,
Today (after several days of me being sick) I went to Silke's stall and she came to me immediately and put her head down as if to say "let's go" so I took her into the oval pen and turned her loose and she followed me all around the pen. keep in mind Silke's Stall and run in area is right next to Bear, Shorty and Feather's pasture and they are all nose to nose across the fence inside the barn and outside in the run. So she chose to leave and go with me without hesitation, that was such a great feeling. By the way the sun is shining! it is a beautiful day.

I am so tempted to get greedy here and spend the whole time today with her doing things for me, she is so willing...But something inside is telling me that today is the day to put her out with her new friends. So I walk her over to the field and open the fence and she is pulling back just a bit before, as she goes into the field. I walk her around and the other horses come over to see her and greet her so I release her and she stays with me! The others are curious, but they keep their distance. She follows me to the front of the pasture and she keeps coming up to me and touching me as if to say thank you and she wanders a little away to eat grass. then she comes back over and over again to express her appreciation, so I give her a treat and leave the pasture.

She is with her herd and she decides to let them all know one by one that she is their new, young herd leader, they come to her over and over just to be sure and one by one she says to stay away. I keep checking in with her so I can be sure to catch her later, each time she comes to me willingly and I reward her with a scratch on the forehead or behind the ears etc. and sometimes a treat. but then I leave.  I teach a small group of my boarders on Mondays starting at noon, we call it horse school and today we got to scratch off some groundwork tasks, so I had to leave Silke with the herd for a couple of hours and trust them to get along without me. and I had to trust my belief that I would be able to catch her when I got done with my students.

Well I went to the pasture and called out to her and by the time I came through the gate, she was running to me and she put her head down to be caught! what a great feeling! I know that today is just one day and that tomorrow may be different, but I am going to enjoy it while I can. Thank you, Silke.
Thank you all for listening,
Cheryl & Silke