After a few minutes of asking Kimi to lunge around me in the round pen without a line, I put the saddle on and then lunged briefly with the mecate’. I mounted. We rode around in the round pen for 20 min. everything went smoothly. No one was there to take a picture.
After that, I took the saddle off and carefully brushed him.
Today I spent more time about 15 minutes riding Kimi in the round pen with a bosal and bareback. A couple of times he was a little irritated and reached around and tried to bite me (it appeared to me to be rather halfhearted). I firmly and carefully pulled his head back with the mecate’. I don’t want to get a fight going. Fights can be habit-forming, so I do my best to avoid them. I want him to get used to everything carefully and kindly and avoid a fight of any kind.
Tomorrow I’ll try to introduce a saddle with me on it.
The bugs weren’t harassing us. It was a cooler day. I worked at ground driving first with a snaffle bit and then with the bosal. I could definitely see that he was treating me like the lead horse. During my first lessons with Kimi seemed so unafraid that I thought he might be sizing me up to see if he could be my leader, but today the third day; I could clearly see that he respected my space and he also wanted to be close to me following me around in the pen.
When I rode him he was bareback. I did not use the bosal. I allowed him to just stand there. I did not push him to move. However, I moved around. I was moving my legs, stroking his neck with my hands. He was not stressed. He didn’t arc or stiffened his back.
Of all the horses that I have trained, I’ve never experienced one who was this comfortable with the first saddling and after a bareback ride.
It was hot and buggy. I’d used up the cans of flies-spray, but neither us Kimi or I could endure the aggressive insects. Nevertheless, I put the saddle on again with no protest or fear from Kimi.
I put a snaffle bit in his mouth. This was the first time he showed himself as a beginner. Just like every colt; he spent the rest of the session mouthing it and attempting to spit it out.
I took the bit out of his mouth and put on a bosal. I jumped on bareback and this time I threw my right leg over his back. I petted him moved around a bit and then jumped off. He stood solid unaffected. After that I gave up on account of the nasty bug situation, I turned him loose in the bigger pasture
Kimi 8/12
Kimi
Kimi means (Swift Thunder) in a Plains Indian language.
I received Kimi 8/12/2019 for training. My guess as to his height and weight is about 15.3 hands and about 1100 pounds. His breeding Bashkir Curly and Mustang.
In the round pen, he was unusual because he was not afraid. Although he started to show signs of submission after about 20 minutes like other horses. At that point, he followed me to the middle of the pen. I put the saddle on him. He stood quietly with no restraint, as I threw the saddle on his back and then cinched up. When I asked him to trot again, now with a saddle on, he showed no sign of fear or discomfort. This was very unusual. He did not buck or even arch his back when I asked him to trot on. After a few rounds around the pen, I asked him to stop. Again he followed me to the middle of the round pen. When I took the saddle off; I got on his back. I didn’t totally commit myself by throwing my right leg over rather I laid across his back and wiggled around. He showed no concern.
Kimi’s composure with me driving him in the round pen, receiving the saddle, and finally receiving my weight calmly and without fear has never happened to me before with a horse with no previous experience. He followed me around in the round pen as I gathered up my tack and then I turned him loose for the night.
