I will probably not continue to write about my training with Rajmani every single day. That would get too boring with the time as horse training is a lot about repetitions. However, the first couple of days with a new horse are really interesting as every horse gets used to his new home in a different way and it is interesting to see how soon they arrive and feel comfortable in a new home. Some horses need only a few days, others might need weeks if not months.
Rajmani spent his second day with us in his paddock with some other horses nearby for company. I had planned to continue with him the same as yesterday, first leaving him with some other horses in the big paddock and then taking him for a small round of work. But today there were people nearby working with big machinery and there was a lot of commotion near the big paddock, on the other side of the wall, so that I did not feel comfortable taking him up there. I decided to try to walk him together with another horse to see how he would behave, as I wanted to start ponying him along as soon as possible.
Grooming Rajmani
First, I decided to give him a good grooming.
I had not done this before, mostly because he was nervous and did not like to stand still and I did not want to force him too soon. I went inside his paddock, gave him a little treat when he came to me straight away and let me touch him on his forehead and neck. Then, tied him to one of the poles as I want him to learn how to stand still and I don’t care much for horses dancing around me while I am trying to brush or clean them. He looked at the rope and threw himself backwards to check if the rope would come loose. It was not done in panic, he was merely testing whether he could get free. He could not. I had made a strong knot and I always use good quality ropes and halters. So, he tried just once and then stood there more or less still and let me brush him.
Like all young and not so much handled horses, he preferred me being in front of him and tried to keep me there by turning away when I went towards his neck or body. I was gentle with him and let him sniff the brushes before I set to work. Like all geldings or stallions, he tried to bite me a few times but ran into my elbow or hand, so he soon realised that I was not a play partner he could bite or kick. I never smack a horse on his nose when they try to nip, as they soon learn to bite and then quickly turn the head away to avoid getting hit. I rather leave my elbow or hand there so he would hit himself on the nose.
Like before, he did not like me to touch his ears or upper part of his head, but he slowly started to accept it. He loved getting groomed on his neck and after dancing around initially, soon actually stood still. Another thing I often have with horses who come from outside. They have never learned to stand still or relax in the presence of a human. That is often because human beings mean stress for them. They might have gotten hurt before or at least have experienced discomfort while being around a person. I want my horses to stand still during the grooming or saddling and not dance around or being constantly elsewhere. I want them to focus on me when I work with them. It is a learning process which takes time. A horse used to pain or discomfort will need some weeks or months to build up enough trust and confidence to stand quietly while getting handled.
Rajmani was a clever horse, so much I had gathered already, he would learn quickly.
I picked his hooves and he was pretty good in giving them. The front hooves were better than the hind hooves, but once he gave them, he was good.
Rajmani has good hooves, even though he might need to get used to our hard and rocky ground here. I will find out in the next days and weeks.
Setting out to Work
I put the knot halter on him and led him out of his paddock. Aisha was already tied up outside the next one and I just needed to open the knot of her rope. She was clearly not very happy to be so close to Rajmani and after an initial sniff, gave an impatient snort and pinned back her ears to tell him from the start not to mess around with her,
I led her on my right and Rajmani on my left, making sure I was between both horses with enough space. Aisha knows what I want from her but she tried to go ahead and started trotting in a big figure eight, ending again back to where she was supposed to be. Rajmani was totally unfazed. Leading worked much better than the day before and he stayed in the perfect position with his neck aligned to my shoulder. He stopped when I stopped and started when I started. Also, Aisha settled down and both horses walked side by side with me in the middle. No bitching, no fighting, I was relieved. That made my life a lot easier.
Suddenly I had an idea. Why not ride Aisha and pony Rajmani along. It was a crazy idea as I did not know how he would react, but then why not try. I knew I was rushing things, but I felt confident that I could handle both of them.
I tied Aisha and Rajmani near the saddle room with a bit of space in between and saddled Aisha.
Ponying your Horse
Then I took both of them and put them in the right position which was not easy as Aisha started to turn around not wanting Rajmani to be behind her. When he extended his neck to sniff her, she bit him viciously on his flank. Poor Rajmani squealed and reared up, wow what a great start I thought to myself, not sure if my idea had been a good one in the first place.
As I had nobody there, I had to manage alone, so I just put my foot in the stirrup when she stood still for a second and up, I went. Aisha tried to start trotting to get away and I had to calm her down first. Rajmani followed on the end of the lead rope. We went a nice long round over the farm, doing some turns and going here and there, always walking, avoiding any narrow bits. Aisha was definitely pissed and hated Rajmani and possibly me for doing this to her.
But as he kept his distance, she also calmed down and started to relax a little. When she stopped, he also stopped, when she started, he also started. When she turned, he also turned. By the end of the day, he behaved perfectly and I was happy to have tried it out.
We returned back to the stable after around 20 minutes or so and I put him back in his paddock, safely away from mean mares and he went inside, happy to have his own private space he could relax in after so much of excitement.