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| "Donnegal" |
Donnie’s Day
Donnie
and I had a good start on his journey to developing more confidence in himself
and his surroundings. I decided to start
slowly after a winter hiatus because that’s what always seems to work best with
Donnie. I want him to feel that any time he is with me he has nothing to be
apprehensive about and knows he will always have a good experience. This may sound odd but Donnie is a special
case and needs a lot of reassurance from everyone around him. He’s a very intelligent horse and very
sensitive.
Unfortunately,
he’s also a very nervous horse who has a tendency to become stiff and
unresponsive when he’s upset. We got him when he was 3 or 4 years old, (nobody
was sure of his age), Donnie has been with us for thirteen years and he does
trust us but he still has episodes of distress.
After
all these years he’s still a little head shy at times. When I went out to the pasture to bring him
in he threw his head up when I tried to halter him. We have to unbuckle the halter and stand
beside him and then put it on. He’s not comfortable when anything comes
directly at him from the front. We’ve
often wondered if he has trouble with his eyes but there really aren’t any
tests to diagnose nearsightedness or farsightedness in horses as far as I
know.
Donnie
and I worked with a little clicker training involving touching his nose to a
cone. I moved it in all directions and
he was a star. It only took him one click to figure the response that was
needed for a treat. We didn’t work for
long but it was enough to start with.
I’m
not ever going to ride Donnie. My goal is to make him feel good about himself and
gain confidence by his achievements. I believe all horses like to have a job of
some kind and feel useful. It’s also
important for them to feel special and get attention.
Donnie
is a sweet sensitive horse and to show his approval of what we did together he
gave me a little shoulder nudge and a Donnie “horse hug.” He gives the best hugs ever and will even
call you over to his stall to get a scratch or rub then give a Donnie hug in
return. I love this horse.
Here’s
Donnie’s full story from past blog posts if anyone is interested:
Quote For Today
In
the steady gaze of the horse shines a silent eloquence that speaks of love and
loyalty, strength and courage. It is the window that reveals to us how willing
is his spirit, how generous his heart.
