Brandi, the young mustang mare from the Sand Springs HMA in Oregon, USA. She’s been at her new home since September 6th, 2024. She can be groomed and sprayed, which my clients have worked on on their own, and haltered, which we’ve done together. I’m now starting foot handling with her. To be brief, here are some notes about my approach:
- Why I use a pool noodle: I don’t want to put my face (or any other parts) down there, because I don’t know what to expect from her (which turns out to be a good decision).
- The buoy: used as an anchor rather than tying (which is a separate skill), as well as an additional way to get reinforcement when she’s confused, and to keep momentum going.
- Using hay: even timothy pellets are too high value, and dropped hay is an opportunity to take a break if she needs one.
- Changing how I use the noodle: just touching the fetlock was not enough information and probably surprising, so combining the contact with the hip with using the noodle provided more continuity and less surprise.
- The beginning doesn’t always look like the end: she’s kicking because that makes the most sense to her in her repertoire of behavior, and because I’ve reinforced it before in order to get the leg lift to start, not because she’s trying to be malicious.
- Shaping the kick to just a lift: slowing the speed at which I moved the noodle allowed us to explore different responses.
