Silke's progress May days

Hi,
Silke is becoming much better at accepting other people, Today was the first day that I let someone else (my worker) bring her into her stall, she was very nervous about having someone besides me, but she did really well with no problems.
Let me back up, I have been going out every morning and turning her out then I come out after she is done eating and work on touching and being touched and desensitizing as well as sensitizing. then at the end of the day I go out and catch her and groom her and then I turn her into her stall to eat.  I go back later and do more with her. We have been doing this schedule for over 2 weeks now and she seems to be getting used to the consistency of the program.
She has learned to accept me touching and massaging both ears and she has learned to lower her head if I place my hand between her ears.
She has learned to put her head down if I put my finger into her mouth (where the bit or wormer would go)
She has learned to pick up her feet if I lean on her leg with my shoulder and say foot while I gently pick up her foot and stroke it.
She stops when I stop and
She backs when I back,
She moves her hind or front when asked and
She sidepasses pretty good.
She stands still for mounting from both sides.
She is coming along nicely, but she is now needing to get used to other people handling her so that I don't have to worry about her getting away from them if I am not here to "Catch" her.
She is "in ground training" until she makes the transition to other people. Then I will start saddle training her from the ground as well as ground driving, then she will begin her under saddle training. I feel like we have come a long way in a very short time, until she has a bad day (or someone has tried to "help" me) then it seems like it took for ever. I am having so much fun with her she is getting shiny and silky, she has shed out beautifully.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl & Silke

Silke's Progress Springtime!

Hi All,
Silke and I are really getting to know each other, she is very confident but her level of trust still needs help, I am sure that will be a very long process. Yesterday my worker decided he would "help" me by trying to Catch her and turn her out, when I wasn't there yet, well needless to say she didn't let him and I am sure he ended on less than a positive note, with the release being when he gave up, but he thought he would surprise me by helping. I am sure he got the message from Silke, not to touch her. He said she didn't like him.
 It is amazing how many people want to "help' me either by telling me what I did wrong, or telling me I should use different methods, most of them haven't even seen my horse, let alone work with her. I believe that every horse is different, and what works for one isn't always the best for all. For example, each of my 3 Iceys have a different way of learning and of responding. I believe all methods work. I just have to use what works for me and for my horse, after all I am the one who is her owner. I hope this helps some of you who are struggling with lots of well meaning advice from friends, just do what works for you, or go get help from your favorite trainer. I am sure I won't be Silke's only trainer, she will need more than I can give her. I will always be learning, I am a sponge for knowledge. I believe that if a trainer stops learning they should also stop training. Until I become a horse, I will still need to learn more.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl & Silke

DNA's and play days

Hi All,

The DNA has come back as a negative, Lani and Sunna are not Silke's Parents. So I just sent a list of possible parents to be tested for a match to Silke's DNA. If there are no match's she will not be able to be registered. That will be sad, but I didn't get her for her papers, I am so happy to own such a wonderful horse.

I had the opportunity to go to an Icelandic playday in The Dalles Oregon, I had so much fun, I am a bit timid when it comes to driving my truck and trailer on the freeway so I asked Karen (Brotzman) to do the driving and I would supply the horses and the truck and trailer. Karen rode Bear and I rode Feather (AKA Vaka) It was such a treat to see someone ride my horse, I got to see who he is with someone else. Thank you, Karen. The place we were at had an obstacle course and a water crossing, as well as an arena that was huge. Feather was so excited to see all the other Iceys, there were 16 horses and several of them were in Feathers previous herd. Feather's Mom was there and she just had to say "Hi" she calmed down after our lunch break. I can't wait for the next play day we really came together as a club and we all seemed to be having a great time. I have been working with Silke on a daily basis again so I hope to have some new updates on her progress soon.
Thanks for listening,
Cheryl and Silke

Silke's blog

Hi All,
Silke has been steadily improving. Yesterday I took Bear and Feather on a trail ride to Battle Ground  Lake, we had a great time the temperature was 70 degrees. Silke stayed home with Shorty and she didn't even call out as we went past her down the driveway. She is now very consistently coming up to me in the pasture instead of hiding behind the other horses. She is very curious and she allows me to groom her in the pasture with out "catching" her, in other words I am grooming her "at liberty." She has become a nice asset to my herd environment. While we were gone, she took care of Shorty and he took care of her. They really get along wonderfully.
Now I must talk to you about what has been happening in the pasture. Normally Bear and Shorty "play" every afternoon while Silke and Feather eat and watch and then tell them to stop. Now, all 4 horses are at play every afternoon. it is a wonderful sight to see, I am so lucky to be able to watch the herd dynamics from my windows of my house, without disturbing their play. when I go out to video or take pictures, they stop and come to me to see what I am doing. they are like children on a play date. Or...maybe they are posing for a picture? I challenge you all to watch your horses and just hang out with them and groom them in the pasture.
Silke and I are playing on a regular basis in the barn too, it is very rewarding and we are making great progress, I have slowed down the riding. (I still put a saddle on and I also sit on her and climb on her bareback) I am focusing on the small details of what makes her respond to me and what makes her not respond to me. she really does not spook at things and she is very focused on me
when we are together, even if other horses are present.
She is very confident, she is learning to stand still for friendly pressure She is allowing and accepting the rope over her neck withers and back and even around her legs.  She is learning to move away when asked gently, she is learning very fast and she retains it all. She is not as "heavy" as my other iceys were at the beginning. She is very light, but not out of fear, she is just responsive. I am very pleased with the results.
Thank you for listening,
Cheryl and Silke's herd etc.

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