Horse Whisperer Diary -- week #4

I missed a couple of days because of the wet sloppy corrals and then went back to work with Luke. Luke has been living with my 8 year old mustang, Ben and they have had quite a time deciding who was going to lead and who was going to follow. They have been pretty even with neither one of them clearly on top. One of the days that it was to wet to work we noticed that Luke started a relentless pestering of Ben. He would not let him stand still but just kept moving him and biting at him. Ben would kick at Luke but not really connecting enough to hurt him. Luke never let up until Ben finally seemed to say OK  if you are going to lead show me that I can trust you.

The next day they spent most of the day grooming each other and rubbing each others weathers. So the light went on for me and I put Luke back in the 50' Porta-Flex and got my long bamboo pole and relentlessly kept moving him away just like he had done with Ben. I had to stay with him for several hours and we were both getting real tired and he got real annoyed and tried repeatedly to jump out of the pen. I had to stop a few times to check the stakes of the PF because he was rearing up with his head over the pen and jumping. He was not scared but just wanted to leave. I just kept touching him in the ribs with the long bamboo and it was like a bite to him. Finally he softened and his whole expression changed and he let me touch him and he did not flinch.

Then I was able to touch him all over his body, his legs, under his belly and up his neck to within a few inches of his ears. He would not let me touch anyplace on his head or near his ears with the pole. But now there was a difference in his expression so I knew I was making progress.

I found a place on one shoulder that he liked to be scratched with the stick, so I began working my hand up the stick by moving up and back about a half inch at a time and gradually getting closer each time. He still left me many, many times and I would first have to touch him with the long pole and work my way up until I could touch him with my hand. Then I began making the spot that I could touch him larger until now I can rub him all over that shoulder and up to his weathers and along the top of his neck until about 6 inches from his ears. I have gotten up onto his jaw about an inch when I had to quit for the day. I still have to touch him first with the stick and work up to touching him with my hand but the time will come that I will be walking up to him and even when he will be walking up to me.

I still have a long way to go before I am able to ride Luke and 1/3 of the time allowed to prepare him for the show in Norco is now gone.  But I have proved to myself that love and patience will win in the long run and I have only done things that anyone else couldn’t do. I don’t know if it is possible do without a close relationship with Jesus or not because I know Jesus gives me love for the horses in very difficult times.

I thank those of you who have been praying and I ask you to continue. If any of you who are reading this are inclined to want to help with a little donation, it would sure be appreciated.

See you next week.