King is working through the groundwork phases to becoming a riding horse. Last week Jolene began having him come up to her along the fence, to get him used to her swinging her leg over him and weight of her on his back. As you can see from the video, he took all of this very well and was happy and content. Our goal with a sensitive horse like this is to allow him the time and patience to progress without making things a huge ordeal. Days like this are building a strong foundation of trust and partnership that will follow him for the rest of his life.This will teach him to trust people so that when situations arise where he needs to make choices, he will remember that people made him feel peace and safe around them even when new presented with new things. He can look to people for how to react or guidance in what to do. King has changed dramatically from that horse that showed up at SAFE just 3 months ago, who was afraid of everything and had no idea how to reach around people. By concentrating on basic manners and a solid foundation SAFE is truly making a difference in this horse’s life. And let me tell you it is going to be a great life! He is going to be a very nice riding horse and a wonderful partner to his future family!
Here is a short video of King getting to feel the weight of a rider for the first time:
Here are some beautiful photos Jessica Farren took of Jolene working with King in the round pen:
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- Little distractions along the outside of the round pen
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- Very social and sweet meeting
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- King, Prince and Ruckus
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- Cute Black Muzzle Group!
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- Hey pretty Vida…wait up…
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- Rico and Prince saying hello
