Kota - Day one in review

So the pony left for his new home and the horse in training came yesterday and things went pretty well.  With the new arrival, the TWH was getting excited and started running around (a lot, bad horse!) so he got a bit of ace (obtained in case he was going crazy on stall rest) and was confined to his stall.  He is still on very strict and controlled movement for 3 more days and he isn't going to be running on my watch!  The new horse is nick named 'Kota and he had NO idea what to think of my poor donkey.  After I put the TWH away I turned Kota in with the donkey as I knew she won't bother him.  Kota stared at her with huge eyes and kept running up to her and stopping about 3 feet away and trying to stretch to sniff her.  It was quite amusing.  After a couple of hours he seemed to relax though he surely isn't thrilled about her.

Amazingly enough the App wasn't nearly the bully I expected him to be and they seem to get along.  There was some mare-ish screaming and ear pinning but nothing bad.  They are stalled next to each other and can touch one another and they were fine last night and again this morning so I turned those two out together this morning.  I kept the TWH and the donkey together to keep the TWH bored, everyone was more interested in hay than anything else and things are still quiet out there. 

Last night I worked Kota for the first time and the owner stuck around to see how things went.  She has owned him for about 2 months and is getting frustrated over some of his quirks and thus he came here.  He is a 6-8 year old paint who is a strict trail horse per the vet due to some severe conformational flaws.  His front leg is angled very strangely due to ligament issues not treated as a baby and his hind legs are almost completely vertical, up and down with almost no bending at the stifle or hocks.  I warned her that good training sessions are supposed to be boring and it was.  It is obvious he hasn't had any groundwork done with him and thus he has almost no manners.  Starting  with basics, I worked on groundwork and getting him to respect space and pressure.  He likes to walk with his head at/above the height of my head as he thinks he is part giraffe and has no idea that he isn't supposed to walk on top of me if I stop.  We spent the first 20 mins learning to walk with our head at shoulder height and how to stop when I stop, back when I back.  We worked on moving the quarters, which he did really well, and learning what Whoa means, which he has no idea the word even existed.  We worked a little on lunging basics, walk and whoa, with moderate success.  It should go better when the Whoa is installed better.

The change in an hour was pretty dramatic in terms of his manners.  Even this morning he is walking with his head down, even though he wanted to lookie-loo around, and stopped when I did with only gentle reminders. I think he will be pretty easy to fix up, he just needed someone to explain the rules to him.  Groundwork again tonight and then Thursday will be my first ride!