UP FOR ADOPTION:
*Charlie is finishing up her TIP requirements and is available for adoption. Details below*
This is Charcoal, Charlie, or Charlie-horse as we call her, a 3yo mare from Antelope Valley, NV. She's currently about 13.2hh, still growing but won't be huge. Charlie is still a wooly mammoth in most of these pics but there MAY yet be a grulla or smokey black under all that fuzz... Stay tuned for more recent pics.
Charlie is athletic and smart, qualities she shares with every Antelope Valley Mustang we've had here for gentling. While curious and super brave with objects, she was pretty convinced that humans were a nuisance to be avoided at all cost. She learned early on to target my hand. I'd get one touch from her, maybe three, and that was it. I'd reach for her...nope. Anywhere other than the nose... Also nope. Charlie horse here was quick to turn tail and run, and athletic enough that she'd keep running for days if not redirected.
Through a combination of shaping, pressure & release (called negative reinforcement in learning theory and has nothing to do with punishment), CAT-H, and positive reinforcement (yes, really, all of the above...that's why it's so easy to get stuck when we're 'married' to one single approach), she learned that touch, initially with a whip, then a flag and finally my hand, over most of her body and down her legs was ok.
The neck though, and the head...uh oh, that was scary stuff. I taught her to target my hand in different positions along her neck, cheek and front of her face on both sides, again using all of the techniques mentioned above. After she was ok with targeting (touching) a part of her head/neck to my hand, me touching her became ok.
While practicing that, we continued to work on touching her body and legs, brushing and fiddling with the neck tag, all without her ever seeing a rope.
Finally Charlie was ready for the neck tag to come off without any excitement. I then introduced the halter the same way I had introduced my hand to her head and neck. Long story short, she leads now, is picking up her feet, and pretty close to finding her own person. More on how we got from neck tag off to leading and picking up feet in a relatively short time when it had taken quite a while to get to the point of even being able to touch her in the next Charlie post.
Charlie is located in Central Colorado. She's on the smaller side (about 13.2hh), stout and still growing. She is playful and incredibly self assured when it comes to objects that scare so many horses (trailer, tarps, ropes, ANYTHING that's not a person). A horse like that, once they learn that people are ok too, will go anywhere and do anything and be a confident, non-spooky partner.
Charlie is available for adoption through the TIP program, meaning that she will be gentled (halter and lead, load, pick up feet, stand for brushing and started on tying) and can be adopted for $125.00 by an approved, suitable adopter.