On her terms

BG is getting better about being caught further out in the field. Okay, it is still at meal times and she knows I have the food there, but for us it is a great improvement and a small step to hopefully having a catchable horse in the field. Yesterday morning for breakfast I put the head collar on her a few metres away from her field shelter, said well done and then lead her in for her food.

Last night was lovely. We got up there and BG was running round the field on her own, tossing her head and trotting beautifully along whilst P1 was being ridden in the fenced off ‘school’. Once I had got BG’s tea P1 was using the field shelter so I attempted to head collar BG alongside it. No, she eyed the head collar with distrust and backed away. I gave it a little while as she headed off to find some grazing. The lure of tea was enough to bring her back and I moved further along the edge of the field away from the other ponies. I still didn’t think I stood a chance but she was as good as gold. She seemed a little like she was ready to leap back and run off at any moment but she didn’t actually pull back.

Head collar on and she ate her tea. Unfortunately I had nothing on me to tie her up with so as soon as she finished she wandered off and it wasn’t until I went to get the hay nets that she came back and we were able to take it off.

BG is a funny girl. You have to get her at the right time and then she will be perfect. To take it off I caught hold and undid it as you would for any horse, but with BG you have to read her moods, if she wasn’t of the mind set to let me she could quite easily have pulled back and hurt my hand if she felt any pressure on her head collar as I caught her.

My husband said she does things on her terms. It is true in a way but I prefer to think we do things on mutual terms. BG won’t get fed unless she has her head collar on, and I have been known to spend hours with her trying to get this point across. They say you should tell a horse who the boss is, and with other horses I give as good as I get; if they push me I push back. With other horses I tell them what I want, with BG I ask, she is my soft spot. Whether that makes me the best owner for her I don’t know, but it is certainly very rewarding when you achieve something from mutual trust.