Keno is one mare that needs constant reinforcement. If she's working in her area of comfort, she can do just about anything. But get her into situations where she feels she's not in control and she stops thinking and has panic flashbacks. With a lot of new horses, we'll start giving them a little bit of saddle time as our groundschooling progresses. With Keno we needed to be more methodical, giving her a wider variety of preparatory experiences where she could deal with things and gain some emotional strength before being asked to do something so abstract as dealing with a rider climbing on top.

When it came time to saddle up, we had a day where she was just working well. We did the round pen routine while she was packing a saddle and when it appeared she was taking it all in stride, we tried putting weight in the stirrups, then climed on board. She handled it like a lady, without getting worked up over it. We plan to continue supporting her heavily with ground work before asking her to do very much under saddle.

Keno can be a darn good example setter. She actually is at her best when we're focused on other horses. In this sequence Keno is showing a newbee to the horse course the ropes... targeting objects and taking obstacles on voice command, off lead.

Keno certainly remembered Joyce when she visited. We had Keno at liberty and she stayed close by for most of the morning. Hello!

Can I have some of your coffee? That's my original Mom!

Hanging out with Mikey, Starfyre & Debbie

Continue to Part Three Return to Part One

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Also check out: Keno's Buddy, Corey Keno's Buddy, River

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