05/04/2026
Well! This girl definitely brought the chaos for a bit but it seems like she’s finally settling in and on the right path 🤞🏼. A few weeks after I got her, she had an explosive reaction to me pulling her away from grass with the intent to put her in a grassy pasture. Long story short, she landed 2 kicks on me and left me with a pretty neat scar. I was lucky to have only torn a little muscle in my calf and walked away with some bruising.
Since then, we changed up her management to be completely through protected contact. Any touches or scratches are entirely up to her, and she does ask for them! Working with her through protected contact not only keeps us safe from her reactions, but it can also help her feel safer. Her reactions stem from anticipation of pain from touch. Slowly but surely, she’s coming around and calming down! She still has her moments, but overall, she’s showing a lot of improvement.
This week, we started working on verbal cues for walk, trot, stop, and various body targets. I’m really enjoying watching her finally enjoy her time with us and not be so quick to defend herself.
Go Peps!!
