[Phase 2] Working Through Issues

It was the first few weeks after getting the new rescue Loshenka. So far it was more about bonding and showing the mare her new environment. Eliza was making sure to not remove the halter the first few days. The rescue mentioned doing that since the mare was incredibly head-shy after her past. To make matters much worse her tail was beyond matted which was causing her pain. To say it was an exciting few weeks was an understatement. 

Eliza decided to start with her head-shy issue first before tackling the matted tail. It was a slow start in the stall at first. She knew better than to try it out in the paddock first. Outside there were just too many variables, distractions, etc. it would be better to train with the halter inside. As soon as Eliza wrapped her fingers gently around the halter the mare snorted and tensed up. Panic started to rise up in her body as she felt pressure in the halter. Eliza sighed softly at the mare before removing her fingers. Soft and slow whispers left her lips as she started rubbing the mare's neck. 

“Easy girl… It's okay”

Whether the mare believed her or not was a different story. But Eliza could feel the tension starting to subside underneath her fingertips. Gently Eliza lifted one of her hands to the halter one more time. As if on cue the mare tensed back up as if even the slightest touch to her face was her limit. Eliza whispered quiet shushing noises while keeping one of her hands on the mare's neck. Her fingers gently rubbed small circles into the mare's fur and muscles. 

“We’ll go at your pace, girl. Everything is fine” 

The rescue had told Eliza the mare had been a lesson horse. That everything in her world was fast-paced at a busy stable. Where grooming was often skipped despite the tangled hair the mare had. Then to make matters worse they would rough handle the mare's face. Which would explain the extreme head shyness. Taking a deep breath Eliza released because she knew the mare needed time. “You wanna go slow? That's okay we’ll go as slow as you need” she murmured at the mare. Who was currently side-eying the rider watching every move. 

With an awkward but gentle touch, Eliza released the latch to the halter. ‘Whether that was a mistake or not we'll find out soon enough’ she thought. The mare snorted as Eliza slowly slid the halter off her face. But then in a second, she reeled backward in a flash, throwing her head up and away. Eliza herself took a few steps back in the stall allowing the mare space. “Easy! It's okay” As she spoke Eliza lifted her hands upwards keeping her voice at a soft and calm level.

This was gonna be more difficult than Eliza had anticipated. But it was also going to be an adventure, that much she knew. Slowly and carefully she approached the mare once more. Keeping the halter low by her legs to try and keep it out of sight. Reaching up she started low by the mare's shoulder before rubbing up towards her neck. "We got this girl, you and me it's okay." More calming words whispered to the mare. Eliza then slowly began to lift the halter towards the mare's muzzle. But then the mare reeled backward and lifted her head away from the object. Refusing her face to be touched.

" C'mon stop being difficult.." Eliza whispered taking a few steps back. " It's not as scary as you're making it out to be, girl"

After a few rounds of backing up away from each other and mounting frustrations from both sides. Eliza finally was able to halter the mare once more in the stall. At the same time, she understood why that rescue worker mentioned leaving the halter on for a little bit. It was to avoid. Causing a panic from her face being touched. Because till she worked with her more she was going to be a nightmare to halter without her head shyness kicking in.

Carefully Eliza began to rub the mare's neck once more, while slowly moving her hand up the neck of the mare. It didn't take long before she rubbed behind the mare's ears. Which was picked up by her she snorted quietly as if it was a soft warning. Eliza ignored it while inching her fingers towards the mare's throat latch. Her destination was the mare's cheek and Eliza was determined to at least pet it.

Eliza's fingers rubbed the muscled cheek for what felt like an eternity but was a few seconds in reality. Just then the mare had enough and turned her head away taking a step back away from the rider. Eliza respected the mare and at least allowed her to touch her cheek before walking away. It was a step to improvement. She understood the mare's fear of her face and halters, but understanding the mare's tail was hard. How could basic grooming be skipped while tacking up for a lesson?

To get a better understanding of her past Eliza made some phone calls to the rescue. Which was roughly cleared up as they only had limited information themselves. It seemed the mare was pretty tolerant which made her the perfect candidate for a lesson horse. But then the stable started to become larger with a greater influx of lesson kids. The kids started getting rushed to tack up which caused a domino effect. They started yanking on the halters, bridles, and even her poll and forelock to bring her head down. While skipping brushing her tail to get her in the arena sooner. All of this created the poor head shy horse that was in her stables currently.

Kids are kids and Eliza couldn't put the blame on all of them. Because where were the adults? Why didn't they teach the kids or even tell the kids to do better? Instead, they allowed them to create this poor mare who once was an amazing lesson horse. Who could tolerate anything which is how why she got into this position. Since she tolerated it till she couldn't anymore.

It took some time as well but Eliza had gotten the mare to where she was okay with quick touches to her face. Mostly it was haltering her in the stall to lead her out to the turnout. With her being okay with that small step she decided to try and tackle her tail. Walking up to the quick-release ties on the wooden beam she sighed at the mare beside her. "You're not gonna like this I guarantee, girl"

Gently she attached them to the mare's halter and took a step back. The mare snorted and scraped her hoof along the floor feeling the tension on her face. Quickly she threw her head up shaking the ties which caused her to snort once again.

"Easssyy" Eliza spoke softly grabbing a peppermint from her pocket. Once she discovered the mare loved those minty treats she used them to her advantage. Slowly Eliza made her way to the side of the palomino tobiano mare watching her reaction to being tied. But it seemed like she was chill about it, at least for now.

Standing at the mare's hindquarters she kept a close eye on her body language. Making sure she was tolerating the ties keeping tension on her face, and the pain from detangling the burrs here soon. Spraying heavy amounts of cowboy magic in the tail she began running her fingers in the top layer of burrs. Trying to figure out which ones were going to be the easiest. Slowly she began to extract the ones that gave away first through the creamy strands in her tail.

Glancing down she realized the pile of burrs that were building up on the concrete floor. That small momentary distraction made Eliza not realize she wasn't pulling on a more tangled burr. It caused the mare to squeal and stomp her hoof while turning to look at Eliza. Who could only sheepishly look at the mare "Sorry girl... I think we're done anyway I got a few of them out. It's a good start to your tail."

Unhooking the mare from the ties she grabbed her lead rope before gently leading her back to her stall. Sighing softly Eliza watched the mare bob beside her as she walked. Deep down she knew it wouldn't take long to get her back to the amazing horse she once was. But it was a daunting task at the moment. Having to teach her to not be head-shy anymore, and slowly detangling her tail.

Entering the stall Eliza stood beside the mare's shoulder patting the mare gently before scratching behind the mare's ear. Slowly she moved to unlatch the mare's halter before softly tugging it down off her face. The mare stood beside Eliza lingering for a second before sniffing her arm. Taking a chance Eliza scratched the mare's cheek whose eyes fluttered for a second. Then she snorted and threw her head away from Eliza. Who could only see it as an improvement from when she first came to Eliza's stables.