Juno ropes aren't actually snakes.....

Juno is an 11 month old filly who has just begun to realise that (most) humans are not going to eat her, and that actually, we can give pretty good scratches. Having spent most of her short life actively avoiding all human contact, she is very adept at evasion. Breaking free and running away, jumping field boundaries, trying to leap out of stables, turning her bottom and threatening to kick are a few examples from her repertoire, all of which have been effectively used to avoid entrapment by a human. In her mind, each time she uses one of these tactics it becomes a successful method of avoiding perceived trouble, and therefore becomes a learnt behaviour and is more likely to be repeated. 

We have to remember here, that she is not 'naughty', 'cunning' or 'devious'. She is just a horse with instincts that tell her not to interact with a predator. Whether we like it our not, us humans are naturally predators. We have eyes on the front of our head, walk in straight lines, are very task focused, our hands look like claws and we move with intent. Compare this with the horse, a prey animal. They have eyes on the sides of their heads to allow almost all round vision. They move in a series of meandering arcs, combining grazing with keeping a watchful eye for predators. They do not have hidden agendas, creep up or jump out and their sole aims are to eat, sleep, stay alive and breed. They do not have ambitions, desires or wants outside of this. They do not wake up in the morning and plan out their day or wonder what tomorrow will bring. They live in the moment, doing what they believe necessary to stay alive here and now.

I have worked with Juno over a series of six sessions now, using advance and retreat and body language. I began with the feather duster, and then moved onto my hands. I then realised she was pretty fearful of the rope, possibly as she has run with it a few times, and now believes it can chase her. So, I did a significant amount of work using advance and retreat with the rope, so she can tolerate being stroked with it.

I have worked very incrementally to build Juno's confidence and trust, always aiming to consolidate each stage of learning before moving onto the next. Today's session was extremely rewarding. We saw an incredible amount of licking, chewing and sighing, and Juno really softened and relaxed into my touch. There is still a long way to go, but this little filly's world must already be a lot less stressful now she realises that she is not on our menu.