We've gone out to see Artemis twice since I last wrote. She's progressing very nicely, except in one area. She doesn't like to be caught. You can pet her but as soon as you try to catch her, she bolts. As soon as she is caught she stops and is completely fine with anything we do to her. It took half an hour to catch her today. It's frustrating because I'm not really sure what else to do. I've never worked with a foal like this. I'm going to ask my stable owners next time I see them. They used to breed horses and have raised a lot of foals. Today we took Artemis into the round pen. We practiced putting the halter on and taking it off. She was a lot better, but we'll see if it made any difference next time I go to catch her. She also discovered that she loves grass. She tries to eat the hay but she just nibbles at it. She was really chowing down on the grass. She has to spread her legs open so far to be able to reach. She's also getting more bold with wandering away from her mother. Socks is not very happy when Artemis decides to go visit Jimmy.
She's really good with her feet. I'm not sure if she really understands why we want to lift her feet, but she goes along with it. She's also very into chewing on things and people. She keeps chewing her mother's mane and I have no idea how to get her to stop. Everytime we go out there, Socks has chunks of her mane all stuck together and sticking up. I'll admit it, I'm kind of vain about my horses' manes and tails, I like them to be well-brushed and nice. I don't cut them, I like a natural look, but I don't like for them to be sticking up or tangled. Everytime we groom they get a thorough mane and tail brushing. We have a spray we use and it's the best in the world. It even managed to tame Jimmy's tangled tail. Artemis seems determined to ruin my hardwork. Poor Socks, she's always the horse other horses choose to chew on. Artemis also tried to chew on my camera strap. That is one thing I can't stand and I do not let her do it. Dealing with a foal is a lot of work and everytime I come home I'm exhausted, but it's worth it.
2 comments:
You are certainly making progress with your little girl. I like the natural look for tails and manes, too. What products do you use??
Right now I only use a spray called Canter Mane and Tail Conditioner. It is amazing. It fixed Jimmy's tail and as far as I know, it had never been brushed through before.
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