Wednesday, August 12, 2009

And then I'll lead her on the ground

I am working on halter and lead training my little filly, Yalla! She has doubled in size since birth so I need for her to be extremely manageable because I don't want to get hurt by her. She is still a little resistant about haltering, but every time I put it on, I see improvement. She throws her head up and down right when I am getting the halter on and, because it's so heavy, I worry about the brass fittings hitting her. I guess the more I do it, the better she'll accept it. I have had to adjust the halter out two holes now since I first started putting it on her.

When I have a butt rope on her, she leads like a charm, even if I don't use it, but if I take it off, she refuses to budge! Any ideas? Hopefully, this will work itself out. Meanwhile, I guess I'll lead her two handed. lol

This photo was a few weeks ago, before she really started darkening up on her back.
My how she's changed since that photo! Yalla! is almost two months old! She's over two hundred pounds now and her upper body is turning chocolate brown. She's getting wild markings now- goggles around her eyes and her muzzle is all bare. Every scrape mark grows in with black or chocolate brown hair. Even her belly is turning chocolatey. Her dorsal stripe is blending more into her coat too. Notice the blackish tint to her backside and forearms in the next photo? She has a fifty percent chance of being gray or not gray and right now I'm betting on her being a dark horse.

Isn't she funny looking though? Now I know why they shave the foal's head and neck to the chest, so that it blends in better. I think her scraped knees are funny too, just like a kid!
I decided to bling up Annie's and Yalla!'s halters. I bought some rhinestone Christmas ribbon and glued it to their halters. I only put the ribbon across the nose and on the cheek pieces because of the adjustable straps on the poll, throat, and under the nose. It was so easy but I think it turned out kind of neat.

Notice how Yalla's mane is still standing straight up with a just few curls here and there. You can see in this picture how she needs her halter adjusted down again. Just think, I wondered if she'd ever grow big enough to wear it! hahaha!

Hmmm, Annie has dark bald spots on her face just like Yalla! Crazy! Her halter is decorated with the same ribbon as Yalla!'s but the rhinestones catch the light differently all the time. Here's a photo from last week. She pulled the fly mask off a few minutes later. Oh well! But you can just about make out how much she's nicked up and changing colors.I don't see Yalla! napping so much any more but I did catch her laying down today. She has always preferred to lay in manure piles and she's still doing it. She thought about getting up when I walked up to her but I sat down next to her (not in the manure, though) and gently pulled her head down. She closed her eyes and slept with her head in my lap.


And then I'll lead her on the ground -song: Don't bring me down, artist: David Bowie covering The Pretty Things, album: Pinups

9 comments:

Elizabeth McCrindle said...

She's absolutely gorgeous like a little carving :)

lytha said...

hey, this is the post i have been waiting for! i was so curious how you would start her.

she is a pretty one, someone should make a breyer of her.

please post progress, i would love to follow her training.

°lytha

Unknown said...

So exciting!

Sometimes my grey gets a little baldy between shedding summer hair and growing winter hair. Right now he is shedding his short summer hair and it is like a lint sorm.

Unknown said...

"Annie has dark bald spots on her face just like Yalla! "
That bald spot, especially around the eyes in the summer months means the horse is in optimal health. All colour horses should get it but it's easiest to see on greys. If you look on my blog theres a picture of Indigo in the top right corner and you can see her eyepatch, which she gets every summer.

Fantastyk Voyager said...

"That bald spot, especially around the eyes in the summer months means the horse is in optimal health."
I didn't know that! Thanks for the info. I guess all that grain is paying off, even if she still has a baby belly and a bony topline, lol.

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

I hope you get your bay. You know what is odd? Bombay is a flea-bitten gray just like Annie. The people I've been around over the years have been people who don't like the flea-bitten look. However, as Bombay gets older his gray gets whiter and his flea-bites get darker, which gives him a striking appearance. Now he is suddenly being admired everywhere he goes. People are always asking what his coloring is called and where they can find a horse that looks like him. I met a couple who just bought this gorgeous chestnut filly with a flaxen mane and tail that I've always thought was beautiful, and they got really excited over Bombay. The loved the way he looked with all those specks.

Fantastyk Voyager said...

Yes, people call Annie my freckled horse. Gray is a pretty color, it's just that I have two and have always wanted a black Arabian (who doesn't?). Yalla! will be the nearest thing to that, until/unless she turns gray in a few years.

Anonymous said...

Your horses are lovely and the foal is just marvelous!

Andrea said...

What a fun idea for the halters!! And so easy too!! They look really good. I love a little bling!! :) Yalla is looking great, even with her funny hair patches!! Josephine did the same thing!! It's so fun to watch them change and grow.