KBR Training Case Study"Topnopah"Part Four |
Dave on the line
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Day 5, continued
Dave stepped in and started working Tonopah on the line. The idea here was to keep things quiet and let Tonopah get used to Dave. Tonopah had to take off for a "walkabout" a few times but he kept tracking back in on Dave and after a few minutes Dave was able to make contact. | |
Facing up is good
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A curious touch on the nose
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Day 6
Dave started the day with some polling, then we moved Tonopah back into the chute to be haltered. This time we offered Tonopah a few horse treats to encourage him to put his nose near our hands. By starting with his chin, we were able to finally rub his muzzle and nose without him getting upset. When Dave got him back on the line, Dave could rub his nose and face, and Tonopah was also less worried about walking up to dave when asked. |
Nice face rubs
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Dave visited most days around dawn and would spend 30 minutes or so with Tonopah
before his work commute. He was getting pretty good at being able to approach him
at the shoulder but Tonopah was very guarded about his face. He has a couple of
hefty scars on his nose and it was a place he was definitely worried about.
Dave worked through various approaches, also offering treats where Tonopah had to investigate his hand before he got his reward, and before too long Tonopah would let him approach his nose without fear. One morning it wasn't too foggy and I was able to take these photos. | |
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| A couple of days later Dave had to go on a work related trip so Corrine stepped in and worked with Tonopah. He has been very attentive in the round pen. He still gets worked up if he's on a drag line. It takes him a while to adjust to that "snake" that follows him all around, but he interacts with humans pretty well, will yield to pressure and will cautiously approach us. | |
Untangling the lead line
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Practicing basic line skills
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| For the most part Dave would come out in the early hours before work and spend some time with Tonopah. He has been making steady progress althogh most of the time we're not out with a camera to record it. Activities included working on the line over simple obstacles and quiet round pen work at liberty. |
Leading over ground poles
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To be ContinuedReturn to Part ThreePress "Back" to return to the page that brought you hereReturn to Case Study SectionReturn to Lucky Horse ProjectReturn to Training SectionReturn to Wild Horse MentorsReturn to KBR World of Wild Horses and BurrosGo To
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