Phase 2 Loshenka Makeover 2024

Roman ran a hand through their blue hair, sighing. Progress with Baby Girl was slow going, but there WAS progress. Truly, when Roman sat down and really cataloged the gold pearl mare’s milestones, there was actually significant progress. As of two weeks ago, Baby Girl was confident enough to trot around the round pen clockwise, her blind eye facing the fence. In the beginning, Roman’s main goal was to start pushing her boundaries. They knew that the only way for Baby Girl to improve her spatial awareness was to safely guide her through situations that made her nervous. They let the mare gently bump into things, soothing her if she startled and rewarding her for calm investigation.

Rome also put in a lot of time just building a bond with Baby Girl, nurturing the blossoming trust that the Loshenka mare gave them. There were one or two days a week that Roman specifically lined out as days where they would just lounge in Baby Girl’s turnout, giving her attention if she asked and space if she wanted to eat. There had been a day that a cow on the other side of the paddock fence had startled the mare, and she had trotted straight to Roman and “hid” behind them. They had gotten a real kick out of that, but were also deeply touched that she had come to them for comfort.

Today, Roman had been trying to tackle the next hurdle: the trailer. Baby Girl was not a fan of the unloading process, and Rome was trying to find the balance of pushing her boundaries without over stressing the mare. They had learned that Baby Girl was pretty sensitive, but was easily swayed with treats. However, it had been a bad day for Baby Girl. She essentially threw a temper tantrum at the sight of the trailer, something Roman had not been prepared for. She had thrown her head at first, stopping dead in her tracks. Rome had coaxed her onwards with a carrot, but it didn’t last. The Halo mare had balked hard, pulling back and refusing to get any closer to the trailer. It had been a close call, but Roman had held onto the lead rope, and stood with her for a while once she calmed.

She was usually such a sweet mare, but apparently Roman had found her hard limit. Now, they sat with her in her stall, watching her munch on hay. Baby Girl looked over at them with her good eye, ears forward with interest. Back to her normal self, as if the temper tantrum had never happened.

“Shelf the trailer training for now,” Dakota had said, patting Rome’s shoulder. “You can always come back to it. She just needs to figure out how to back up and trust that you won’t let her get hurt. Back to basics, Ro. Ground work, ground work, ground work.”

Roman had thanked Kota for the advice, and planned on taking that advice to heart. They had gotten so caught up in the many little milestones that the basics were a little fuzzy.

Roman stood up, leaving Baby Girl’s stall to grab the soft bristle brush. She looked at them curiously when they returned, and sniffed the brush that was held out to her. Once she continued eating her hay, Rome started grooming her. They started on her left side, from poll to hindquarter. It was a long process, but that was the point. Roman had given her light grooming sessions, but they decided that this would be their start on the basics again. Baby Girl was usually calm about Roman being on her right side, but never quite comfortable. Roman wanted to change that.

Once her left side was clean, Rome switched to her other side. They did this almost exactly the same as they would with any other horse, with the caveat that they gently laid their long arm completely over her back, gently rubbing her right side as they went around her hind end. Rome then gently asked for Baby Girl to pivot away from the wall, using their body weight and a quiet clicking noise to move her. She followed the directions, but her ears were pinned back, showing clear discomfort. Roman paid little mind, starting the grooming process all over again but starting from her hindquarter this time. They were slow about it, just as they had been on her left side. Slowly but surely, by the time Rome had reached her shoulder, the overo mare had relaxed enough to continue eating, her right ear cocked back to keep tabs on Roman.

By the time Roman had finished, Baby Girl was completely at ease. They had long since stopped grooming her and had just been petting her shoulder and neck, quietly moving to her hind end back up to her shoulder a few times with no resistance. This was progress, and it made Roman happy to have made it despite the setback earlier in the day. They knew she had every capability to have a normal life despite her disability. It was all about getting her confident enough to act on those capabilities.

The next morning, Roman started Baby Girl’s reintroduction to the basics. However, they weren’t going to make it particularly comfortable for her. They decided everything was going to be done on her right side today. Rome walked on her right side, backed her up while on her right side, and did round pen work with her starting and ending with her blind eye towards them. At the start, Baby Girl was not thrilled. She had at first refused to leave her stall with Roman on her right side, but they refused to give in. Rather than try to lure her with treats, they simply stood with her and essentially proved they were more persistent than she was. When she finally walked with them, only then did they reward her. Throughout the whole session, the mare would stop and throw a mini tantrum, flaunting her attitude. However, time and time again Roman proved to be more stubborn than her. As time went on, the gears finally seemed to start turning, and she realized that having Rome on her right side wasn’t a bad thing. More trust had been built.

The rest of the week went on like that, and finally on the weekend, Rome decided to reintroduce the trailer. Baby Girl was hesitant at first, but didn’t balk. Roman let the Loshenka mare investigate, and she even followed them into the trailer dutifully. Now for the hard part. Rome asked Baby Girl to back up, which earned a quiet refusal at first. But with a little more coaxing, she did. Roman watched in glee as the mare backed out, giving her a gentle pat once she was completely out. They repeated the process twice, each time better than the last. With that, Roman rewarded her with several treats and then turnout, leaning on the fence to watch her as she grazed.

“How was she today?” Dakota asked, walking up to the fence with Felix.

“Amazing. Loaded and unloaded like a pro. She’s coming along, and from here I think she’ll be ready to go under saddle soon. Maybe a few weeks,” Roman replied, turning to Kota. They gave Felix a few pets when the Corset stallion leaned towards them.

“I’m happy to hear it. I’m glad the basics are always reliable. Just remember them whenever you hit a wall. It always helps, I swear,” Kota chuckled.

Roman nodded in response, turning back to Baby Girl as she approached, nudging them gently. “Yeah, definitely going to remember from now on. Never hurts to go back to the basics if we hit a wall, right Baby Girl?”