Day 10

There is an average of about 5 hours a day of working the mustangs. That totals to about 50 hours as of today. It is the most rewarding feeling to have made progress and I am happy to report that all three mustangs have made a lot of progress!

Cinnamon is as sweet as the day is long. He is kind and a little shy but seems to be working through the new experiences that we bring every day. He can be touched all over by hand and with the pole. I have begun to ask him to lift his feet, which he has obliged every time.  He is ok with a saddlepad and flymask rubbing all over his body. Now the work is going to focus on getting him through the desensitizing to the many objects and situations he will encounter in his life.

Talitha had a but of a rough week. Overnight, she came down with a serious case of hives. Her entire body was swollen including her face. This was alarming since swelling in the face can lead to inhibited breathing. Fortunately, we were able to borrow some antihistamines from a neighbor horse so we could get it under control right away. The vet came out as soon as possible (5 hours later) and gave us our own prescription for the antihistamines plus some banamine. Overnight the swelling mostly disappeared and she was back to normal. We have been lightly working her, trying not to stress her out any more than she already is. Since there are so many factors that contribute to a hives breakout, it is impossible for us to know exactly why it happened. You can see below how her little face was so swollen, poor thing!

Twister has become incredibly interested in people and the distance between us is slowly decreasing. He is attentive when in the pen and has been taking baby steps towards me. Anthony spent some time in the pen using the pole to rub him and when he would pause, Twister would lean forward as if to say "more please". After a little while longer, Twister took a sniff of his hand. I think it will only be a few more days before he is going to figure out how nice people can be.