#not that I'm not pretty dang easy to identify from this blog but say anything in the Icelandic world and ppl across the fuckin country

[rival-the-rose]

Ok I wanna be a lil bit of a smug dick for a second.

So I started leasing this horse in July, I didn't meet her owner for several weeks but a mutual friend showed me out to the barn. The horse was easy to catch but not stoked to see us, but every time I went out she got more and more friendly and will now even walk up to me in the paddock instead of making me walk all the way to her.

Fast forward a few weeks tho and I went out with her owner and she RAN AWAY from us in the field! She really clearly did not like her owner (who seems fine but treats her like a toy poodle rather than a horse with autonomy) and was standoffish the whole time she was there.

The horse does have a habit of bolting right when you take off her halter which I've been working on, and last week she really didn't seem to want me to leave at all 🩵 she came up to the gate after I closed it and nickered for more scritches 🩵

And everyone at the barn keeps telling me how much happier she seems now I'm riding her, like an actual difference in her daily attitude, and being shocked at how affectionate she is with me, and how much she's learned since I started working with her... It's really sweet how much everyone cares about her even though she's not theirs.

What's wild is that I've only even been clicker training her for two weeks, all of these changes were happening before I started giving her snacks all the time and I also know that her mom gives her treats all the time. Turns out respecting a horse's body language, petting "consensually", and training in a consistent and predictable way does more for your relationship than just infinite cookies!