Week 19

This week has come with a couple more firsts. Which is great. 

1st time ever seeing the horse dentist. 1st time this new stranger(dentist) untied him, led him to the undercover area and swapped halters... all with no fuss from Kingston whilst i watched from a distance very impressed.

I then basically stood next to him and I was rather unneeded as Kingston took it all in his stride. 

(The dentist is now A sponsor of Kings- Silver Fern Equine Services!)

Then yesterday I took him for his first little float trip to get to munch some lovely fresh grass at a friends property for a few hours. He loaded with very little hesitation and traveled like a champion. He was a little unsure about backing off but my son actually backed him off while talking to him. Then he did look quite surprised that his scenery had changed. That was funny. But he soon got over that when he saw the green under his feet. 

Overall I am very impressed with him. 

This week has been very simple and a lot of going back to basics. 

It hasn’t been a week of progress but that is always ok. 

I’ve been a little stressed this week and I am pretty sure that Kingston is feeding off me.

But slowly is the way to go. 

Especially with a brumby.

He has been happy to be approached in a yard or paddock with a rug but not so much a halter this week. So I go up to him regularly for a rub and scratch or rug change and then leave him be. 

To remind him that there is no pressure here. 

He is still curious about most things, which is great.

He is still funny and loves playing with his water or throwing over a bucket of water when he can. 

The weather has been a little nicer this week too. 

Looking forward to next week and seeing what we get up to then. 

Take care everyone...

This week I rescued a sweet old mare whose owner needed her re homed asap due to property issues. She had been living with the same 2 miniature ponies for the last 13 years. So when she got here she attached herself quite firmly to Kingston within the hour. Poor Kingston is coping very well with an extremely clingy mare. 

The next day he seemed a little unsettled by her presence but by the following day is completely unbothered by her. 

He has gotten brave this week and ventured further into the paddock shelter during very noisy rain and windy. He has realised that man made weather protection isn’t all that bad. Some awful weather again slowed us down but I have enjoyed a couple of lovely paddock rides with my boys. 

I’m still taking it all slow and trying to go at his pace and help set things in concrete for him and avoid pushing him too far. 

Yes, we are STILL in stage 4 lockdown!

So I am still unable to take Kingston off the property for any new experiences and adventures. Fingers crossed this can happen soon.

Hope you are all well. 

Take care. 

From Kingston and Tatiana 

Www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

Hi everyone, 

This week started off great. 

I finally found a saddle for Kingston that fits better and stays put.

He is started to find his feet under saddle. I wish I was lighter for him but we are taking it nice and slow so he can slowly build up his muscles and his balance. 

He really tries to please and tries to work things out. It’s very sweet. 

He willingly lets me ride him over his bridge, through puddles and over a tarp. 

My youngest son has had a lot of anxiety around horses, even the family pony that he has known his whole life, ever since his double lung transplant which was nearly three years ago. He will still hop on for a walk occasionally but is very cautious. 

This week he really surprised us and requested that we ride behind the harrows as he wanted to practice more trotting! (Kingston and I needed the practice too.)

So that’s what we did. Saddled the boys ponies and my brumby and off we went, it was so good for all of us.

So that is what this weeks photo shows, us all trotting along behind the car and harrows, taken from the car view. 

Very proud of Kingston and my boys!

Unfortunately we have had 3 days of awful wind and rain since. We will get there. 

Still in lockdown here so just playing in our paddocks. 

Feel free to follow our journey here:

Www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

So, I can’t believe King has been here so long already. The time feels as though it has gone fairly quickly. 

Today is super windy, very strong wind almost pushing me around at times. 

I was really impressed with Kingston just before, I went to put his cotton combo rug on from the offside, not only did he not mind but he tolerated the rug that was trying to blow out of my hands. It was flapping all over him and above him whilst i stood a metre away hanging on to it waiting for the wind to calm briefly so I could attempt to get it on. He stood there tied up seemly rather unfazed! Very clever boy.

Yesterday, I was sitting on him as he stood on the tarp in the middle of the round yard and while my two sons were trotting laps around us on their ponies, giggling and tagging each other in pony tiggy. 

He was effectively holding the tarp down as it flapped against his legs. He then got bored standing, so he started pawing at the tarp and seemed to enjoy the way he was able to bunch it up under him. Funny boy!

Feel free to see some of his pics and videos on my page www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

...Here is a photo of me riding him over the tarp, please excuse the many warm layers I was wearing. 

This week we have done some more work on our relationship under saddle. 

He is already showing that he has a lovely soft mouth and responds well to my voice. 

He is lovely and patient on the ground. 

He stands well for me to mount and adjust my position/saddle etc. 

He will stand well for a while but is showing that he would rather move his feet and do something.

Kingston patiently stands tied up and has a lovely snooze while you go about your business around him. 

Each time I go past his rear end while he is tied up and I’m going to and from my tack shed, I deliberately brush or bump past his tail or rump and he is finally getting used to it. 

He is starting to let me come up to rug and un rug un-haltered in the middle of the paddock.

He is coming to his name more and more even if his paddock companion doesn’t come to the call.

This weeks photo is just of him standing relaxed as I saddle him up. He is going really well and really fitting in here nicely. 

It is currently pouring rain and has done on and off the last few days, and lots of wind prior to that. This is making finding time to work with Kingston tricky but we will get there.

I am enjoying how much our relationship has progressed in a nice and relaxed way. He comes running down from the back of the paddock regularly through each day to check if I have anything for him. I hear him coming as he always detours to go over the little wooden bridge. 

I love that if I approach him carefully I can put my hands all over him with no halter and can take his rug off or throw his rug on with no trouble. 

He is very smart and a nice quick learner. He knows that I put his rug on a certain way, I swing it away from him to open it up then swing it straight over him. He sees his rug, knows what’s coming and stands relaxed for it to fly at him. 

He makes me very proud. 

I trust him more and more around my boys, they are used to being careful around breakers/babies and understand to watch his signals. 

He has only ever moved away if frightened. 

I was rugging him last night while there was a circular saw going less than 10 meters away, no problem!

Such a sweet boy with a lovely future ahead of him. He will become an amazing family horse.

Here he is following me like a puppy as I am out feeding the chooks and ducks. 

I had a chaff bag with straw in it to top up the chook bedding, once empty he wasn’t reacting to it as i walked by, so i popped it over his rug. He carried it around proudly for the next 5 minutes and once the wind finally blew it off he didn’t even react but started pawing at it on the ground. Funny, brave and inquisitive boy.

 This week we have some beautiful new hooves. Kingston was quite comfortable with having his legs manoeuvred in any direction and position needed for a nice even trim. He was great. I am sure he will appreciate the pedicure. 

He is getting more and more comfortable around my boys and I love seeing and hearing how proud they are of Kingston and how far he has come. 

He happily wears any of my saddles from different disciplines. He has a compact little body and I have mostly been English rider so I think that’s the way to go for us. 

Kingston happily roams the main paddock which lets him talk to many different animals over their fences. The goose yells and hisses and runs at him as he heads over to the water trough but he just ignores it. The neighbours seem to like chainsawing the most when I am working with him, but he is quite unfazed. 

I have still been taking the riding side of things very slowly so as not to rush him when he isn’t ready. 

Today’s picture is of my son helping me get a lovely relaxed walk under saddle. 

He is still reactive at times but never in a nasty way. And it becomes less and less often each day. As usual I am very proud of him.

Hopefully we are out of stage 4 lockdown and some stage and eventually able to take him out to explore the world. Looking forward to what next week brings. 

The weather has been kinder to us this week, which of course is appreciated. Unfortunately this past week has been really windy and a little dangerous to do anything with horses at times. I’ve spent a lot of time chasing buckets around paddocks, while the horses are probably laughing at me. 

The beautiful Kingston has been a pleasure. 

He and I have just been going over the basics and concreting a few easy things into place. 

He still cracks me up when he is lose in the paddock and chooses not to follow the pony through the ditch but to leave the pony and go seek out the bridge to cross the little ditch, it really shows how far he has come. But, none of my other horses do that, they all prefer the ditch!

Kingston happily wears any of my saddles with no complaints or stress... English, western, stock etc no worries. 

He is happy for me to walk up to him in the paddocks and reach up and scratch both sides of his neck. 

As soon as he spots me he neighs at me, just gorgeous. 

He never had any issues meeting my other horses and really wants to play with my young appy gelding, I will let them play together soon. 

This pic was snapped today as he paused nice and relaxed under the crazily flapping streamers, completely unbothered by them.

He and I were almost getting blown away. But he allowed me to mount a few times and mount and turn a couple small circles all nicely and relaxed.

Hopefully the weather continues to improve and hopefully none of my horses or fences fly away. Looking forward to lockdown ending in not too long so that Kingston can start meeting new people. 

Follow our journey at www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

Hi everyone, this weeks weather gave us a few hints of sunshine which was definitely appreciated. Not enough gap in the bad weather to do a whole lot but it all counts. 

Looking back over the last couple of weeks and realising the change in Kingston has been quite interesting. I think it has done great things for him and our relationship by just doing the day to day basics and no work... catching, unrugging, cuddling, brushing, rugging, cuddling and feeding etc. 

He follows me like a lost puppy on my feed up in the mornings.... follows to the goat pen & waits by their fence until I come out, follows to the chook pen and nearly climbs in with me, follows me over the ditch to the pig pen... BUT what I found AMAZING is:

When I walk or even ride the pony over/through the ditch, he walks off on us and takes himself over the bridge we taught him to go over!!! None of my other horses prefer a man made crossing! I found it very interesting and It really shows how far he has come into our world. 

Anyway, very proud of him as usual and loving my time with him more and more...(he may just have to become a part of the family long term!)

Went to put my sons jumper in the wash yesterday and it was dropping pellets from the pockets... the following picture shows why.

Feel free to follow our journey together at Www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

Hi everyone, 

We have been at stage 3 lockdown since the start of the Australian Brumby Challenge and have now been in stage 4 lockdown since the start of August, so unfortunately no option to venture out and about but hopefully we will get that opportunity at some stage. 

This week the weather hasn’t been in our favour and I haven’t got my hands on the gorgeous Kingston as much as I would have liked but I don’t want to rush things either.

So I just did a little here and there this week and he has been pretty good taking the time off in his stride. 

He is less and less reactive as time goes on which I’m very proud of him for. 

He still neighs at me whenever he spots me which is just lovely and he is getting much better at having me approach him from either side. 

We have been doing more leg handling and have had both fronts trimmed so far. This pic is from today, I gave up with getting much done in this windy rainy weather so we played in our new shallow lake...

Hi everyone,
Kingston and I have had a lovely week together.
His lovely sweet nature shines through more each week. This week he spent more time with my boys around him. My 10 year old is super proud of seeing how far he has come. He used to sit quietly on a chair outside the brumby’s yard and watch me working with him and getting my first touches etc. To now where he is able to lead him around over poles and around tyres.
I had laid over Kingstons back for a few days as I try to make sure everything is concreted in his mind and that he is very comfortable with each step before moving to the next.
Obviously he can still be quite reactive at times and we want everything to be easier and easier for him and for him to feel safe.
I then sat upright on his back with a good response.
He even ambled backwards a few times to get the feel of the weight on his back, even backed into my mounting block with no reaction. I was very proud of him.
Next day I let my sons be involved, 1 on our gorgeous pony and one behind the camera and they took turns.
Ended on a lovely relaxed note, here is one of those photos. 

We are getting more attached to him each day. 

He is always the first to neigh to me when he spots me too. 

Follow our journey here and on my page www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

This week was off to a great start, which included more firsts. 

Again I am very proud of this beautiful boy and of how far he has come. 

I am enjoying each step we take together. Of course it isn’t always steps forward. At times it feels like steps sideways or even backwards and sometimes you feel that you aren’t taking any steps at all. But lately it feels that we are mostly heading the directions I had hoped. 

Unfortunately the week ended with me being limited to a non horse related hand injury that will hopefully ease up over the next few days. But clever Kingston has been enjoying a good sized paddock lately and when I call, he and my lovely pony come cantering up. It’s very cute to see. 

Here he is nice and relaxed whilst being long reined. 

Looking forward to next week. 

See updates at www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

So we are nearing the end of week 5. Looking back I see that it was mostly a reminder week. Concentrating on strengthening what Kingston has already learnt to understand and accept. 

He enjoys watching my sons run around playing, jumping, giggling and throwing things. He isn’t too bothered by them. 

He is very good with his rug getting put and taking it off. 

He has worn a bridle a couple of times now and taken it is his stride. 

He has worn a couple of different saddles this week and is fairly comfortable with them. 

He is very relaxed when doing some of our obstacles and follows me quite well on a lead in most situations. 

He has learnt that he likes carrots. 

We have been walking over a tarp on the ground and he is getting used to me handling both sides all over and both of his front legs. 

He is allowing me small touches on his hind legs. 

He has met both of my boys now and as you can see in this photo he let my eldest son spend a little supervised time with him. 

My son was so proud of Kingston and has really enjoyed watching some of my sessions with him, therefore he has seen how far he has come. Looking forward to next week...

Kind Regards Tatiana and Kingston 

You can follow our journey at www.facebook.com/animalsfurall

Hi everyone!

Kingston and I have had an amazing week. I had a feeling last week that things were going to take off in a good way and I was spot on. 

I am so very proud of this beautiful sweet and cheeky boy. 

This has been a very big week full of many firsts. 

...Put on his First Halter

...Finally got my First touches of his near side

...Took him around, through and over his First obstacles

...let others have their First touches

...began the First part of our leg handling

...met and wore his First rug

And just today he calmly accepted meeting and wearing his very First saddle!

I am amazed at his increase in trust towards me and my movements and my requests. 

I am loving the time I spend with him and getting to watch his courage grow. 

It is wonderful getting to be on this lovely journey with him.

I am looking forward to what next week brings us and what he may possibly amaze me with next.

He is very gentle and sweet and very smart, he constantly reminds me of these beautiful qualities of his.

This weeks photo was hard to pic as there have been so many.

Here he is relaxing on the new bridge...

 This week things are now feeling as though they are slowly coming together. 

Currently I am sitting on a chair in his area while he plays with his water, he loves it. 

We have been spending some time together each day, not as much as I would like as I have other horses to work and animals and kids to care for, but it is working for us. 

He is getting more comfortable with me being around and me approaching him. 

He is convinced that I can not be on his near side, which is making things interesting as I am having to retrain myself too. 

But this week he is finally letting me see and even approach part way to him on his near side but only allowing me to touch his off side. 

He eats from my hands and nudges my outstretched hand.

He likes to follow me around slowly and if I stop in front of him he enjoys nibbling on my clothing.

He is still such a character and is now massaging my back with his top lip, which is too cute. 

Looking forward to what next week may bring.

Todays picture shows us relaxing together while watching my son ride around on his pony. 

 Tatiana Johnson
Animals Fur All
VBA Kingston

So this week has been about persistence and patience. Kingston of course is reminding me of the importance of the use of these in all our training sessions. Most days this week of I have just continued to do the same things. He is getting a little more confident as time goes on. 

Kingston is still very cheeky, very curious and interested in seeing what is going on in and around his part of the world. He yells out for breakfast and dinner as soon as he spots me. 

He kisses my horses over the top of his yard fence and has coped very well with our busy goings on. 

Here he is checking out a bag and then going back to licking his empty feed bin.  

 So here we are at nearly the end of week one.
I am so full of admiration for this gorgeous boy. VBA Kingston has been a pleasure to have at my property. He has already decided that everything going on outside the safety of his yard is not scary. It’s been a big week of watching for Kingston... many kids around for my holiday programs, some building of more shelters nearby, horses coming and going, etc.
I love how curious he is.
This photo shows some of his cheeky and curious side. I started using a lunge whip as an extension of my arm to give him a nice scratch on his rump and back.
He was so un bothered by this that he picked up the end and chewed on it whilst I continued. He is already used to me chuckling at his cute behaviours.
He has a lovely soft healthy coat and is learning accept me approaching and giving a firm rub on his rump. He even chewed on the back of my jumper yesterday.
I’m definitely enjoying this journey and I am really looking forward to seeing what other lovely personalities come out along the way.
Tatiana Johnson
Animals Fur All
VBA Kingston