Alexios, The Fast Learner

Two days ago, when we were last at the pasture, we had quite a time catching young Alexios in order to halter him for the second time in his young life (he turned three weeks old yesterday). Today we knew that we needed to halter him again as consistency is the most important part of training. We didn't know how he would react to us, but as it turns out, he is a very fast learner. My sister came along for the ride and was kind enough to take photos. We decided that it was best for her to stay outside the pen as a third person in there might have made the little guy more unsettled.

Anastacia came up to the fence to greet us, happy to know that she was about to be fed. She is looking very good these days, having slimmed down considerably since giving birth.

It appeared that we were going to have a great chase on our hands again as when we entered the pen, Alexios decided to keep his distance. Here we are having a little chat. I was telling him that we were going to get the halter on him again today and he could make it as easy or as difficult as he wanted.

At first, it seemed that he'd decided to take the difficult route.

He kept his distance for about 10 minutes, then something seemed to click. He walked up to Anastacia, very glad that she was still in the pen with him, and let himself get caught. It is not easy holding onto a foal who really would rather not, so he needs to be contained from the front and the rear. When he feels resistance in either direction, he's not as inclined to try to get free.

The halter went on easily this time, and then the lead rope.

Once he seemed to settle down, we gave him lots of scratches that he actually appear to enjoy. He even attempted to groom us in return.

It is important to be able to touch a horse all over, and so he got his back, his belly, his legs and his ears petted.

Deb even started to handle his mouth. There are many reasons that he needs to become comfortable with this. Once he is trained to be ridden, he will need to accept a bit, but also he will need to have medications administered on a regular basis. Horses do need to be wormed at least three times a year. The medication is a paste that is squirted into their mouths.

We kept him contained for about 20 minutes. He did very well, relaxing enough that I did not have to hold onto him as tightly. A hand around on his rear, and one on his neck seemed to convey the message that he should stay still and calm. When it came time to remove the halter I did need to tighten the grip again.

He didn't seem to mind the halter as much as being touched by us, so we continued to hold and pet him for awhile longer.

When it was time for him to be released we did it in such a way that he walked forward instead of backing away. Horse back away from things when they are fearful or resisting and that would not have been a positive way to end this experience.

He remained calm even afterward, not needing to burn of nervousness like he had previously.

He even approached me curiously when I knelt down to get a few photos.

He is growing as fast as he is learning. Please notice here that he does not need to splay out his legs at an awkward angle in order to reach the ground with his mouth.

And just a quick check in with the other baby in our world. Finley came to the pasture with us today. He was very well behaved while his humans were preoccupied but he did take the opportunity to find himself a toy.

It is a small burlap sack filled barley straw that is used as a treatment for the water tank. It helps prevent algae from flourishing which means we have to dump the water less often. This is an old one that already spent its month in the water and had since dried out in the sun. Finley had a fine time romping and wrestling with it.

Finley has been to the vet and was given a clean bill of health other then the issue he has with his front leg. It is something that may have been caused by malnutrition early in his life and there is a good chance it will resolve by itself. For now we are going to feed him well, love him lots and see if it resolves.