Day 2

Day 2 was yesterday.  I'm almost caught up!

I had to buy a halter and lead for P yesterday and found a softer brush as well seeing he was officially not OK with a curry, as I found out day 1.  Also picked up some wipe on fly spray because he's getting eaten alive.

One of the other boarders took pity on P recently and tried to put some fly spray on him.  Apparently he freaked out when she sprayed it near him so I figured now's as good a time as any to try to start getting him used to the smells/sounds/feel of the rag and spray.

Headed up to the stable with a new rope halter, lead, assortment of brushes, fly spray, a few carrots and a white wash rag.

One thing I noticed on Day 1 was that Phoenix is pretty friendly... until you pick up a halter.  If he's loose and you walk into the paddock with a halter in your hand, he won't let you get very close at all.

So, I decided that Day 2 was going to be a step back but hopefully a step in the right direction.  No haltering.  My goal for the day was just to work on getting to know him, getting him to know that I'd like to be buds and getting him to follow me as well as allow me to touch him and handle him w/out him running away.  I hoped I might be able to get him to stand still for  a swipe or three of the rag sans fly spray but I wasn't counting on it.

Day 2 was a success!  Phoenix did very well and I didn't do too shabby either!  We spent a couple of hours (with breaks) just getting to know one another.  He's a little bitey but pushing his muzzle away with a firm but quiet "NO" seems to be working pretty well.

I got to see 1st hand a few times, the "scratch my butt" request but Kay helped me with that.  After the first time, on Kay's advice, when he did it again, a short, sharp stamp and clamp got the point across that presenting me with his rear end is NOT an option.  Only had to do that a couple of times for him to "get it."  Awesome!

We, Kay and I, also discussed treats.  I don't want P to be spoiled and I need to really discourage the nipping so, no treats by hand, only in his bucket and I need to not "over treat" which can be tempting.  I want him to understand that sniffing is OK but around me/my hands, teeth stay closed. Period.

I tried the fly spray and failed but that's OK.

Once I had the smell of the stuff on me, P and I were back to square one.  He does NOT like the smell at all. So, for now, everything we do... I'll have fly spray on my hands or on a rag in my pocket until he gets used to it.

We also worked with the rag a little bit.  I let him check it out rubbed it on his forehead, waved it around and that was about it.  I just wanted him to accept it without spooking and he did and that's more than good enough for me for one day.

Hopefully we'll get some pictures up here soon!