This is the way I've been tying Ava lately. She can still pull the rope off of the post if she forgets how to stand, but it gives her the illusion of being tied to a solid object. In this picture, she is totally relaxed, dozing off with her head resting on the hitching post. What a positive change!
My focus at the moment is teaching Avalon to think through her emotions. One of the ways I do that is by working her next to the arena gate. Her emotions are higher in the arena because of trees, vehicles, and construction (plus being separated from her herd). Conveniently, she is less afraid when she is next to the gate. To encourage her to use the entire arena, I've made the gate our work area, and the spookiest places of the arena our rest areas. That's where I took these pictures.
At one point she lowered her head to the ground licking and chewing. I thought she might lay down, but she never got past pawing. Once she yawned a few times, I decided to head back to the barn on a good note. No, a great note. Yawning next to the spookiest tree? I'll take it!
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| Showing off. |
I am the luckiest little girl. <3
It helps to make the spooky spot a resting spot. Yawning in horses is a tension release movement. Same as scratching on a foreleg. It's good that she's looking to release the tension.
ReplyDeleteYes! She is making a lot of progress.
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