Week 20

Honestly I can’t believe that we are 20 weeks in with our brumbies already. What a journey it has been. Precious has had a pretty easy going week this week full of mostly trail rides and days off. Over the weekend we had a young rider out again to help see how precious adapts to new people in preparation for finding her new home. We went for a trail ride, Precious and her young rider first started being ponied but quickly advanced to being ridden solo. They both did amazingly together and I’m super proud of well behaved Precious is even when she is worried. We had a new horse and rider come along with us, when we first met up with the new pair the horse was pretty fresh. Precious hasn’t really been around a horse who isn’t super well behaved so it was cool to see how she would go. She did get a little worried at times but not once did she ever try and unseat her rider or do anything “naughty”. She quickly got used to the antics and the rest of the ride was fabulous. Precious spent some time following behind everyone, being in the middle of the herd and also leading. We had motor bikes and cars fly past us and not once did they ever spook her. Precious is really becoming a super little horse out on the trail and around new people. 

Next weekend Precious has another competition which includes a dressage test and a hunter trail so it will be like a mini one day event. I’m excited to see if Precious has grown in confidence since last time she was out at a competition. Our next update will be another fun one so stay tuned. 

Like always you can follow Precious a little more closely on my Instagram at @Brizzies_Horses or on Facebook at Brizzies Brumbies & Performance Horses. I also have a YouTube channel and have our video of precious’s first ever competition so you can watch that here -> https://youtu.be/KgQ4fCYklkc 

I hope you have a wonderful week and I’ll update you again soon. 

Briar and VBA Precious xxx

Week 16, 17, 18 & 19

So I have been terrible at keeping my weekly updates going but that’s kind of because my weekly updates are a lot of the same. Just building on the riding work, building on Precious’s confidence in other people and still doing everyday life. Precious normally gets worked on the flat a couple times a week working on moving off my leg in both directions and starting to work in more of a frame so she uses her self correctly. Then we go for trail rides as many times a week as we can so Precious can get used to lots of cars and motor bikes and other random people we come across out on the trail. Her biggest fear still is other people but slowly and surely we are working on it. 

Last week I had a young rider come out to watch me work a few of the wild ones. She watched me ride Precious and because Precious feels so solid in her ridden work I asked if she wanted to have a play with her. She did a little ground work first and Precious was so good at listening that the young girl was even able to have a super little ride on her. Precious was super good nice and calm and did everything she was asked. I was so proud of her and the way she handled it having a totally different rider for the very first time is a huge deal. 

I also have been slowly introducing Precious to a bitted bridle. We had a competition planned and because of the rules she had to be ridden in a bit so off we went to try it out. It was also a jumping competition. Although I wasn’t going there to win anything and only for Precious to gain experience around other people and horses, I also had to see if I could get Precious to jump properly and over 65cm. So out we went two days before the competition, first time in a bit, first time jumping higher than a cross rail. Precious did excellent she jumped a total high of 70cm and rode around like I had been riding her in a bitted bridle this whole time. 

Then the competition came around. Let me tell you, I am so dang proud of this little wonder horse. Even though the people were terrifying and she couldn’t quite believe just how many other horses allow humans to ride on them, she did fantastic. When she was nervous or scared she never once felt like she was going to bolt off or be “naughty” she would simply just stop and look at everyone. She found a lot of confidence in following my mum around. She knows my mum quite well now as I always get my mum to hold her when I’m doing something so to have my mum there that she could follow through the small crowds of people was just awesome. I was also so dang proud of her jumping ability. It was the very first time she had ever seen a jump other then my white single jump at home and then for then to be coloured and have funny things under them and to also jump more then one jump was also a massive deal. It was also her very first time seeing cross country jumps. I thought that when I entered in the smallest class we would jump the smallest jumps there. I was wrong. Most of the cross country jumps we jumped weren’t the smallest option and some of them were pretty scary that even my more experienced jumping horses would probably not try. Sometimes with the scarier jumps it took her a few times to have a look and suss them out and then she was all over it. She knew how this jumping thing went and she was a little machine. I really am so proud of the progress Precious has made. 

The week after the competition which is the week (18)  that has just been, was just an easy week with a couple of trail rides. I have a young girl coming out to ride her again so she can really start gaining experience with other riders so that when she does find a new home it’s not such a huge shock. I believe she know what she knows now and she is super easy and confident to ride so it’s time to start letting her gain more confidence in many other people so she can go on and live an awesome life full of adventures after me. It’s gonna be a very sad time when it does happen as I have really grown so attached to her but I know she is gonna have a more adventured life with someone else. 

Anyway I think that’s it for this update. Like always I’m having the time of my life with Precious and I can’t wait for more adventures we have planned over the next few weeks, like going to the beach, going to more competitions and just having loads more fun. 

Like always you can follow Precious a little more closely on my Instagram at @Brizzies_Horses or on Facebook at Brizzies Brumbies & Performance Horses. I also have a YouTube channel and have our video of precious’s first ever competition so you can watch that here -> https://youtu.be/KgQ4fCYklkc 

I hope you have a wonderful week and I’ll update you again soon. 

Briar and VBA Precious xxx

This week was a short lived week. I was able to introduce Precious to some jumps. She had a very awkward jump to begin before she was able to work out exactly what was being asked of her. By the end of the session she was jumping much better but still a little unsure so I plan to do a little more work with her on that. I was hoping over the weekend I would have been able to take her on an outing again but one of my other horses had different plans so we weren’t. I was also planning to introduce the bit this week but after a weekend of nice weather we had a week full of rain and terrible wind so all up Precious had the week off. I think it’s important for all horses especially when Precious will be up for sale at the end of this event that she will be well prepared for any home she goes into. I think Precious is going to make a perfect all rounder so I want her to have the knowledge to help her in the years to come. 

Precious is still doing really well in her domestic life now and I know I keep saying this but I’m so excited to keep working with her to see her excel in the future in her new home. 

We are on Facebook at Briars Brumbies and also on Instagram @Brizzies_Horses where you can follow our progress more closely. 

I hope you have a wonderful week. 

Briar and VBA Precious xxx

Week 13 & 14

So I just realised that I didn’t put up an update for week 13 so here is my week 13 and 14 update. Not much has changed with Precious she still has the same routine of living out in the big paddock and being worked when we aren’t being rained out. Precious is now super honest to catch and I can walk up to her in the paddock and rug and unrug without having to halter her prior. She really is starting to become apart of the furniture. She has been working consistently on her top line doing a lot of long and low and building up her fitness. We had quite a few days of heavy rain so she had almost a week off from riding and when I got back on her it was like she hadn’t even had a break which is cool. 

I’m super proud of her progress and excited to keep learning from her and trying new cool things. 

Thank you for following our journey and if your interested in watching her progress you can watch her videos on YouTube on our channel Brizzies Horses. 

You can also follow us on Facebook at Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Brizzies_Horses

Latest YouTube video link -> https://youtu.be/t9n1ph_W7pg

I would also love to say a huge thank you to McDowells Herbal for the continued support of the brumby challenge without this amazing company we wouldn’t be able to help these horses and showcase them like we can. 

I would also like to thank my own sponsors Equestrian Collective and Dynavyte for the continued support. 

Have a wonderful week.  

Briar and VBA Precious xx

This has been another fun week with Precious. We haven’t done a lot of riding, maybe just 2 rides this week in the arena working on our forwards and side passing. She is holding herself a lot better now that she is feeling a lot stronger in her body. 

The reason we haven’t ridden much is because I wanted to give her a bit of a physical break and change it up a little. So we have been working on our liberty and tricks a little more. I also did one day of obstacle work. I normally do this really early on but the paddock with my obstacles has been a little too wet to work in. I didn’t really think she would have much trouble with the few obstacles I have but she did even better than I could have ever imagined. Straight onto and over my bridge, straight onto and over the tires and even the tarp was no problem at all. She really makes me so dang proud of her. 

Like always you can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Brizzies_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on our YouTube at Brizzies Horses. 

I also want to thank my amazing sponsors Dynavyte and Equestrian Collective for supporting me and my horses through this process and also a huge thank you to McDowells Herbal for making the Australian Brumby challenge possible. 

I am super excited to share this weeks update video so make sure your subscribed to get the update of when it is live. You can find my YouTube channel here -> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmlswCA4Wecvagpaakn46YQ 

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

There isn’t a whole lot to report this week with Precious. It has been a whole lot of riding repetition work, working on softening to starting to introduce her lateral work and moving off my leg. I introduced leg yielding this week and she has picked it up really well. We started leg yielding on the circle and then when she started to understand we moved to trying it on the straight line. I also worked more on her canter and holding it better on a 20m circle. 

I’m falling in love with this little horse and whoever buys her is going to get one hell of a little performance pony. She moves super well and has the biggest try. My plan is to introduce her to jumping in the next few weeks to see how talented she is. My plan was to have her out competing but due to covid that has been held off for the time being but I’m sure when competitions start up she will be raring to go. 

Like always you can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Brizzies_Horses and you can also watch our video updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. 

I also want to thank my amazing sponsors Dynavyte and Equestrian Collective for supporting me and my horses through this process and also a huge thank you to McDowells Herbal for making the Australian Brumby challenge possible. 

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

This week has been another big week for Precious. Saturday we worked more on riding forwards and for longer periods of time. Its important I help Precious with her fitness before I ask to much of her otherwise she will resent the work we are doing. 

Sunday I floated out with one of my other horses for a lesson so I thought it would be a great opportunity for Precious to come out for some experience. She hung out with my mum whilst I was in my lesson and then after the plan was to rode her. After my lesson the weather decided to turn horrible. We had wind and rains that were more like sleet but Precious was so calm I thought why not and see how she works. She was perfect to ride and she even had her very first canter under saddle, which was a huge non-event. I was so super proud of this young girl and honestly couldn’t believe how well she did. 

Monday I was able to recruit my mum and her horse to come for a trail ride with us. Precious was perfect, my mums horse not so much haha. It was super funny to have the freshly tamed Brumby be the leader of the ride and be better behaved. My Mum’s horse was just a little fresh as she hadn’t been worked in a while but it was another great experience for Precious. 

Precious had most of rest of the week off as I have been busy with work. Friday I had a few minutes to play around and introduce a few small tricks to Precious that I look forward to introducing to everyone in a few weeks in one of my YouTube videos. I love how smart Precious is; she try’s really hard to always do what I’m asking of her. 

Like always you can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Brizzies_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. I also want to thank my amazing sponsors Dynavyte and Equestrian Collective for supporting me and my horses through this process and also a huge thank you to McDowells Herbal for making the Australian Brumby challenge possible. 

Week 9 Video Update à https://youtu.be/oAijZcw1HLo

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

This week was another big week for Precious, on Saturday we went out for a small walk through the bush that is next to my house. I just lead her but it was such a good experience for her as it was her first time out without a lead horse and she got to experience more cars, tractors and even chainsaws. 

Tuesday was teeth day and Precious was 1 of 11 horses who had their teeth done by the amazing Golden Plains Equine Vets. Precious did super well being handled by the vet and even though she had sedation for the dental work she was very well behaved. She also got to practice her tie up skills whilst other horses were being done. 

Wednesday, I introduced the saddle and because of the previous work with the bareback pad the saddle was a huge nonevent. We also worked a little more on her canter transitions on the ground. Now that her fitness is starting to build up, I have started asking for canter to help start building the muscles she will need for when I start asking her to canter with me on her back. I always only try to introduce 1 big new thing at a time so that is all I did with her on Wednesday. 

Thursday was a horrible day so all we did was a little more ground work and being saddled again. She was really great at this and I feel that I could have gotten on her but I always want to give young horses the best possible experience I can and I felt like even though she may have been fine I just wanted the weather to be a little nicer. 

Friday was a very weird day. When I went out to catch Precious, she wasn’t having a bar of me. She tried hiding behind the other horses she is paddocked with and when that wouldn’t work, she decided to bolt away from me. She has been so good to catch previously so it was a real shock when she didn’t want to be caught. After half an hour of her bolting and bucking around having a great old time she decided I wasn’t giving up and then was happy to be caught. It was a super weird thing to happen as when she decided to be caught, she pretty much walked up to me and wasn’t scared of me at all. Because of her escaped she was very sweaty so before I worked her, she had her first hose down. Honestly, I thought this was going to be another training session but she kinda seemed to enjoy it. She also graduated to the tie up rail to be saddled, which she stood like a real professional. We then did a bit more ground work just to be sure she was comfortable, then I did a little bit of mounting work which again was no fuss. Then we decided to take the plunge and hop on. Because of all the work I have done bareback transferring it to under saddle was no problem at all. We did about 10mins of walk and trot and she was great so I left her there for the day. I was super proud of her and even though we had rocky start to the day she finished off strong and really surprised me. 

Like always you can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Brizzies_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. I also want to thank my amazing sponsors Dynavyte and Equestrian Collective for supporting me and my horses through this process and also a huge thank you to McDowells Herbal for making the Australian Brumby challenge possible. 

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

This week has been a slow week for Precious but still a week of growth. I was able to work on her trot more over the weekend and the start of the week. 

When she first gave me trot with me on top of her, she got worried and told me that she was worried by having a small spin and buck. I appreciate that she told me she was worried so I wouldn’t have pushed her any further but the way she told me wasn’t what I was hoping for, 

When training horses sometimes all the preparation in the world still isn’t enough. 

What I did really like was that over the weekend and start of the week she showed me how confident she was with what we were doing and she was very confident to move off under me and hold trot until I asked her to stop. I really loved that she took her small worry and I was able to show her that its ok to be worried but it’s also ok to become confident and try new things. 

The weather was atrocious this week so what I had planned didn’t get done but that’s ok cause I got to work on tying and also preparing her for the dentist which is coming on Tuesday to check her teeth over. 

Before I ever think about putting a snaffle on any horse, I always make sure they have had their teeth checked over to make sure it’s not going to be a bad experience. She didn’t really mind me touching her lips and opening her mouth so hopefully the prep work I have been doing makes it a smooth experience for her. 

The tying up process went smooth because I have done a lot of work with her giving to the pressure of the halter, she picked up being tied really well. 

Any way I know this is probably one of my shortest updates but I’m still super proud of the progress Precious has made this week and I look forward to nicer weather hopefully next week. 

Like always you can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our Week 7 YouTube video https://youtu.be/ukWNT7dxFyo

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

This week has been a big week for Precious with establishing her ridden work a little more. For most horses` I break in I always do their first few rides bareback to really make sure they are comfortable with me being up on top of them. I feel more safer and I feel they are a little more comfortable this way. 

Saturday, I did more preparation work with Precious, making sure she was comfortable with me being up above her and working on her coming up and parking next to the mounting block. One thing I hadn’t worked on which I wanted to was getting her to yield towards me so that when I stand up on the mounting block and if she isn’t in the right position for mounting, I can then ask her to move over so that I can then hop on. She picked this up super-fast and by the end of the session was happy to move over onto the mounting block and was happy for me to swing my leg up and over her. 

Sunday, was the first day I was totally able to sit up on her without her feeling uncomfortable about it. Once she was comfortable with me up on her I was then able to ask her to move her hind quarters and she was comfortable and confident doing it which was really cool. 

Monday, we moved onto forward movement. So, I was really just wanting her to move in a forward movement instead of only left to right. She did really well at this and that’s pretty much all we worked on as I like to keep things super short and simple in the early stages. 

Tuesday, I worked on the ground first with getting her to go forward and then to follow the feel of the reins. Most people do this on the long line but I like to do it whilst standing at her side and doing it right where my hands would be if I was on her. She was a little confused at first but when given the time to process she picked it up fast and I was then able to transfer it to when I was on her back easily and by the end of the session she was walking around and able to change direction when asked and follow the feel of my hands. 

Wednesday and Thursday precious had the days off to think about what we had done. 

Friday we introduced the trot. When something new gets introduced, Precious’s response is to have a little freak out after she has done something new which is fine, she is allowed to express her feelings but I had to correct the way she expressed her feelings by doing a little ground work. After she had calmed and processed what had just happened and realized nothing bad had happened, we reattempted and she was very calm. We ended the session after having a few very calm trots and having a few really good let downs where she was licking and chewing letting me know that she had taken on what had just happened and was calm about it. I was very proud of this young girl and even though she worried herself she was able to calm back down easily and enjoy what we were doing. Now that she is progressing and learning I hope to get her out on the trail where she can improve more on what she has learnt but in a more exciting environment. I find the quicker I get young and green horses out on the trail the quicker they progress. 

My goal for this next week is to take her on her first trail ride and to introduce riding with a saddle. 

You can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our Week 6 YouTube video https://youtu.be/CJzgteQO63A

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

I just have to say Precious is honestly the sweetest little mare I have ever met. 

Today (which is Friday) when I went out to work on her she was right down the paddock and hadn’t seen that I had rocked up so when I called her, she looked up at me gave a little whinny and trotted up to me. Gosh she is just way to sweet. Anyway, I’ll get into the weekly update. 

Saturday Precious had the day off so Sunday was the start of the week. I wanted to test out our ponying skills and introduce Precious to big wide world of trail riding. So, on Esther I got and off we went. Precious was so amazing just a couple hundred meters into the ride we had a motorbike fly past us without even stopping. I was freaking out thinking she would maybe try run off or pull me off but nope, she looked at it and then just kept walking. She looked back at us like are you guys coming?? The rest of the ride went pretty much the same, she had more motorbikes ride past and even a car with a very noisy trailer on the back. It wasn’t till we came across some people that she needed a moment to compose herself and borrow some confidence off Esther and then she was right to walk past them. At the end of the ride we realized a couple horses were going to get out so I had to pass Precious off to my mum to lead whilst I cantered off to catch them and put the wild horses (they weren’t wild at all just enjoying the grass) back into there paddocks. Precious didn’t mind at all and when we got back, she was super calm walking beside my mum. This was the very first time she has been led by a person other than me. 

Monday Precious got the day off, she has actually had a very laid back almost break kind of week. I have been wanting to get her back muscles right and her feeling more comfortable before I revisited the riding part of her education so all this week, I have been out with her every day doing daily stretches and using my equissage machine to help her problems. Today when I went to do her daily massages and stretches, she had no tension in her back at all and the base of her neck is feeling so much softer. I definitely think this next week when I go back to revisit the mounting, she is going to feel much more comfortable so will then be much happier for me to sit on her. Well that’s the hope anyway. Next week we will see how my theory has worked out and if the body work, I have been doing has paid off. 

I am so proud of how far this little girl has come and I’m super excited to continue working and see where we end up next week. I would like to say a huge thank you to McDowells Herbal for sending out the training package for Precious. It arrived earlier in the week so am excited to see how the products help her with her health from the inside out.

You can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our Week 5 YouTube video https://youtu.be/G4rjiwDgFx8

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

Saturday was a big day for Precious as I introduced the float. Pick up day saw Precious take a good 40 minutes to become brave enough to load up but because of the gentle approach of the VBA team and how they load, really set Precious up for success. It took all of 10mins to introduce the float and for her to load up. By the end of the session she was comfortable to load up and be locked in completely. I was very proud of the way she handled this. 

Sunday and Monday were days off for Precious which she enjoyed chilling out with her paddock buddies. She is so funny, her personality is really shining through now and every time I walk up towards her paddock, she sees me and waits for me at the gate then will follow me as I walk past kind of like asking if we are going to do something. 

Tuesday and Wednesday, I wanted to work on her back issues to see if I could release some of the tension in her muscles, so all I did was catch, unrug and give her a massage. She quite enjoyed the massage and I can already feel the tension leaving. I’m trying to work on more people interacting with her so I can have a chiro out to help release more tension. 

Thursday, I decided to do something a little different. An important part of my training is getting them out and about and exploring the bush as soon as I can and having another horse with them can really help grow confidence especially when we come across cars and motorbikes. So, Thursday I did some work with ponying Precious of Esther. Precious was a little worried at the start of me being on another horse but quickly realized how calm Esther was and her confidence quickly grew. We managed to move out of the round yard and into the arena and we even worked it up to trotting. I’m planning to be able to take her out for her first trail ride over the weekend. 

Overall, I’m super proud of Precious’s progress this week. Her muscle issues have halted riding preparation for the moment but as her confidence is growing quickly with other people, I’m hoping to have her happy and sound again very soon so we can continue to work on riding. 

You can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our Week 4 YouTube video https://youtu.be/Aw3WVyf1V9s

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

Precious had the weekend and Monday off which was a nice little break for her and one that I think she really enjoyed. Tuesday came around and we started off reintroducing myself as the 4 days off had left her a little weary of me again. I did really like however that even though she was unsure of me it only took her a few minutes to remember what we do and how we work and before long she was haltered and back to her cool calm self. She was a little worried at the start of the session but as we went on and worked on that confidence building she really settled and became confident so I was very happy to introduce my bareback pad. Like everything I do with Precious its about growing her confidence in me and the objects around her and after she checked it out and got used to the feel it was done up nice and tight and she didn’t seem to have a care in the world. We did a little ground work session and then left her there for the day.

Wednesday when I went to catch her she was waiting for me at the gate ready to work and learn. I find now that she is super into her food rewards and really enjoys figuring out the new things we introduce. I saddled her up again with the bareback pad and again and she did not have a care in the world. I continued on introducing target training and more importantly targeting the mounting block. This is super helpful as when targeting the mounting block and starting to mount her if at any time she feels uncomfortable she can let me know by moving off. She did this a few times at the start so I would just take it back a few steps get her comfortable then ask her again and all of the times we would re approach she would be ready to learn. 

Thursday again when I was approaching her paddock she was waiting for me at the gate to be caught. I love this as its really showing me that I’m not overwhelming her and that she somewhat enjoys our learning together. We did some more target training and this time added in me actually mounting her. She let me know a few times that she needed a little more confidence, which was really cool. So we just went back a few steps and then worked our way back to where we were and each time she showed me she was much more confident and ready for the next thing. By the end of the session she would let me jump up onto her back and lay across her. I could even bring my legs down either side of her and rub her with them but when I went to sit up and she felt my bottom press against her back she jumped forward so I quickly dismounted as she was clearly telling me she wasn’t ready for that. Later as I was rubbing my hands along her back I could feel her tense muscles this has been a thing I have been working on as she seems a little sore and tight in her back. I have been helping this with massages whenever I can with liniment to really try and loosen her up. I need to  work on her people skills more so I can have someone out to help her with her muscle issues. I don’t believe she is sore enough to not continue on with what I am doing I just have to be mindful that she may just get a little tenser when new movements are felt. We finished that session off with a super calm and confident mounting and dismounting. 

Friday I decided that because her back muscles are a little tense that until they are feeling less tight when I do mounting training I will do it with the bareback pad on as it evenly distributes my body weight throughout her back. Precious let me know that that was the right decision as when I went to mount her she was a lot more relaxed and she even let me sit completely up on her. I love how open she is to telling me what she likes and what she needs a little more help with and Friday she was just really amazing and I was super proud of her effort. I have also started to introduce my neck rope and we are still refining cues so that when it comes to riding training the cues I use on the ground can be a little easier for her to understand under saddle. I’m also introducing her to the neck rope as I hopefully plan to ride her tackles at some stage. At the end of the session I also had my Dad do some more approaching work with her. She is super confident with me so now its time to really build her confidence with all people. Brumbies are funny as once they get to know someone and trust that person they will give you everything but early on when introducing new people it can be such a scary thing for these wild souls. 

Overall I was so proud of her try this week and hopefully we will start introducing float loading in the coming week. And we will keep chipping away at the riding part by really building on her confidence. 

You can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our Week 3 YouTube video https://youtu.be/GAtayaZp4Dg

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

Saturday when I went in to catch Precious in her small yard she meet me at the gate and without a fuss in the world let me catch and halter her. This was the first day she really looked for me to be caught. So I decided after I had finished working with her she would be able to live out in the arena paddock. When I worked her on Saturday we just did some more revision groundwork really trying to solidify what she knows to really start preparing her for her first ride. She was excellent and let me pick up both front feet and also started working on getting the back feet picked up. 

After the session I let her go in the arena paddock where we just set up a round yard so if I needed to I would be able to move her up into it to just remind her of or catching practice. I also moved another horse in with her as I believe herd company is so so important for not only wild horses but all horses. It was super cool to see because the horse I use to help with my more wild Brumbies is my very first challenge Brumby VBA Esther. Esther is super friendly with me so she really helps the more wild horses feel more comfortable around me and I think she is a really great leader for the younger Brumbies. 

Sunday I didn’t get a chance to work with precious so it was a well-earned day off.

Monday was very similar but when I went out to feed I thought I would see if I could pat Precious. She was a little uncomfortable about it all so I ended up moving her into my round yard where I could do exactly what we used to do in the small yard. She very quickly realized what I was asking of her and she worked through the problem and let me pat her relatively quickly. I then gave her, her feed and left her there for the day. 

Tuesday I didn’t get to work with precious at all as I was out and about all day so at feed time I got a quick pat in and left it at that. 

Wednesday was an awesome day. The work I had done with her on the Monday really prepared her for Tuesday and when I came up to the paddock Esther and Precious were both standing at the gate waiting for me. When I entered Precious approached me for a pat and let me halter her without a care in the world. Precious got brushed all over again and I found that when brushing her belly she had a bit of tension so we worked on that rewarding with treats when she would relax. She quickly figured out that it wasn’t an issue to really be worried about it and just a few moments later it was a non-issue. We progressed to introducing the saddlecloth that session and she took it so well that I even ended up introducing a rug. Rugs are cool things and I think they are great training tools as they touch the horse is all the different areas of the body and can really prepare them for wearing a saddle and a rider. By the end of the session she was confidently wearing a rug without a problem in the world. 

Thursday we got one session in the afternoon in and Precious let me catch her easily and confidently even though it was the first time I was catching her with a rug on. A couple of times when trying to halter she moved off as the rustle of my hand on her rug startled her but she very quickly with the use of food rewards became confident about it. She let me unrug her without a problem and worked a bit more on our groundwork and refining my cues. I also introduced targeting the mounting block. When mounting I don’t want it to be a forced experience so getting her to target the mounting block can in the future be a really cool way for getting her to enjoy the experience. 

Friday she had another day off as I also had to work. I am very proud of the positive changes this young girl keeps making over these weeks. Her personality keeps growing every day and I’m getting more and more moments of the confident horse she is growing into and like always I’m super excited to see what she learns in the weeks to come. 

You can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our Week 2 YouTube video https://www.facebook.com/1370945666360104/posts/3061812820606705/?vh=e&d=n 

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx

VBA Precious has had a big week this week interacting with new people and objects. Our main focus for the week was to grow her confidence in me, and the domestic lifestyle. 

Saturday started out with just a short session in the afternoon, as I had to work most of the day. My dad had meet Precious earlier in the week and my mum had wanted to be introduced so I went in and caught Precious. My mum was then able to walk up and pat her up neck and shoulder. Precious was a bit unsure to start off with but got more comfortable with her over a short time. I also realized I hadn’t actually really touched down her off side so we worked on that as well. Sometimes when faced wit new things Precious can shut down for a few moments before opening her mind to figuring out what is being asked of her and when I went to touch her on the off side she did just that. So instead of waiting for her to stand still like I normally would I had to wait for her to stand and take a big breath. When wild horses shut down they stand there and hold their breath and they wont process what is actually happening. Once Precious realized I wasn’t the predator she relaxed and even started to enjoy the neck rub I was giving her. 

Sunday we took Precious out for a big explore of the back paddock and even tackled a few tire obstacles which she did not have a care in the world about. Precious really showed her curious side and would even pull away from me to go and investigate new objects in the paddock. After her exploration I let her relax and have some grass pick in the lane way whilst helping my dad set up some new electric fencing. Whilst grazing my brother rode his bike up behind her multiple times and Precious was so relaxed and confident with the situation that the first time he rode up she looked up at him then kept eating. As he rode back past her a few more times Precious just kept eating. 

Monday Precious had the day off so I only entered her yard to feed her and clean her yard. She even came up to me for a quick sniff and a pat then went back to eating. Monday I realized that when I would put her hard feed in with her instead of just picking at it she would actually eat it all in one go like a domestic horse does. I thought this was a pretty cool sign that she was really starting to relax into the domestic life. 

Tuesday I introduced some ground work exercises like swinging my stick and string up over her back and around her body and then started introducing lunging around me and moving away from pressure to do a proper hindquarter yield. She was a little apprehensive at first but as soon as she realized it was something to figure out she worked through it and became super soft.

Wednesday we covered the same things as Tuesday but moved it out of her yard and up to the arena where we have more space to start introducing trot circles. She was quiet lazy to start off with and I could also really start to see how unfit she really was. To get her to trot a full circle a bit more encouragement was needed but again once she worked out what was being asked of her she started to understand and tried a lot harder. I also introduced touching her legs, which she didn’t really mind at all. I also started jumping around her and getting her used to me doing some crazy movements as when I go to jump on her for the first time I’ll be touching her in many different weird and wonderful places and making a lot of funny noises. She took this really well and I was even able to jump up and down beside her and touch her whilst I was jumping which normally freaks them out. 

Thursday we did some more ground work which was really cool because she had taken on what we did yesterday and today when I asked her to go out on the circle she was super light in the contact and went up to trot with just a suggestion of pressure and went back to walk through verbal cue. She also aced her hindquarter yield and she also learnt to pick up her front feet. I also revisited jumping around her and mounting from the block. She was so relaxed with me jumping up and down beside her that I was even able to jump up onto her back for a few seconds and slide off. I feel she handled it super well for the first time and even though I’m introducing the mounting I still want her to be more comfortable before I actually do start expecting to ride her. 

Precious had Friday off as Thursday night I stood on a nail so we took the day off which she also really deserved. I feel that Precious’s confidence in me is really growing and she is becoming more and more comfortable with the daily routine of being a domestic horse. My goal for next week is to get her out and living in the paddock with another horse so that she can have more equine social interactions. I also plan to get my round yard set up again so I can really start introducing my liberty work. 

You can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our Week 1 YouTube video https://youtu.be/NMeteDWYBk0

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx 

Wow what a week. I picked up VBA Precious on Sunday mid-morning and the horse I first meet seemed like a quiet smart thinking little mare who stood in the yard observing everything going on around her whilst one of her herd mates in the yard next to her was constantly pacing and a little stressed. Loading precious took 40mins but what I learnt from watching her learn to load was that she has a tough mind but when asked to do something she never became mean or aggressive she just worked through a few behaviors like, first putting her head in the trailer then pawing at the trailer to get the pressure applied to stop. I found this super interesting and it gave me a real insight in to how she thinks and how quick at learning she is. I was very happy with the young mare I picked up. 

She travelled like a dream home and even unloaded into my yard like she owned the place, slow and steady. As soon as she was in the yard, she found the water and had a drink then found the hay and immediately started eating, which showed me she wasn’t all that stressed at all. Precious tried the hard feed I put in her yard the same day and relaxed in for the night really well. 

Training started Monday and first 5 mins in she was reaching out sniffing my hand and by the end of the day with the approach and retreat method was able to rub my stick along her wither and back. She wasn’t quite comfortable with me reaching all the way out to touch her but all she would do was walk or trot off, not once would she bolt off or try and kick out at me. So, we left it there for the day and see how much she would remember by tomorrow and go from there. 

Day two and Precious started out exactly how I had left her off sniffing my hand and letting me get in close to rub my stick along her back and withers. I made it a point that every time I walked past her yard I would go in and rub my stick along her back and withers and each time get in closer to rub my hand on her. As soon as she would let me touch her on the back and stop walking, I would take the pressure away and leave her yard. By the end of the day I was able to confidently walk up to her and pat along her back and up her neck 

Day three started where we left off touching along her wither and up her neck so I thought I would introduce the halter. I didn’t expect to be able to get it on her but she did so well that by the middle of the day I had it on her and done up. She had a few little moments of uncertainty when pressure was first applied to the halter but very very quickly, she learnt to give to the pressure and follow me. By the time the last session came around she was doing so well in the yard that I thought we would give the paddock a go and see how good her leading was. She was EXCELLENT. She was so excited to be out of her yard and eating grass whilst on the lead. Eating grass whilst on the lead is normally a thing that takes time, well more than a day of leading work, but it goes to show how brave and inquisitive this young girl is. 

Day four I had to work so only got a small session in, in the arvo so I went into her pen where she let me halter her in about 5mins and then we went out exploring again which she thoroughly enjoys. 

Day 5 / Friday I had to work again so I had a few minutes after work to go out to her yard and get her introduced to the brushes. This is the first time she has really thoroughly enjoyed a scratch she even had her lips doing the funny jiggle. 

Overall, I am so pleased with the young girl I have been paired with and look forward to seeing what we can achieve together. 

You can follow our journey on Facebook @ Briars Brumbies and on Instagram @Briars_Horses and you can also watch our video weekly updates on YouTube at Briars Brumbies. Here is a link to our very first YouTube video https://youtu.be/Rh6mHQ-Jf2Y 

Have a wonderful week.

Briar and VBA Precious xx