# The Journal Of Lena And Missy



## countryryder (Jan 27, 2012)

First things first,a little background on Missy and Lena..
Missy was a gift,given to me after one of my mares lost her foal under tragic circumstances. She is a stocky Quarter horse filly,born May 17,2012; chestnut/sorrel,with four white socks and a cute little crooked blaze. Missy comes from good bloodlines,with many great working and show horses in her pedigree,and is in the process of being AQHA registered. Her sire and dam can be found on allbreedpedigree: JXL Watch Jo Missum/Miss Dee Home Fires










I purchased Lena at a production sale.She is a dark bay/brown,with blanket and spots,Appaloosa filly;born May 15,2012. She is also extremely well bred,coming from good working cow horse and performance horse bloodlines.She will be registered with ApHC. Sire and dam are on allbreedpedigree: Ima Bootscootin Lena/Rustlers Highness


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## countryryder (Jan 27, 2012)

To get you up to speed on Lena:
I have now had Lena for a 1 1/2 weeks,and here's what we've accomplished so far.When I was checking her out at the sale where I bought her,I could tell that she was used to being around people;you could approach her and rub on her with no problem,and with moving slowly,I got a halter on her. But it quickly became apparent that she was not halter broke,so we just ran her onto the trailer to bring her home.She was not impressed at first,but eventually settled and we made it home with no issues. She settled right in once we arrived;no hollering,nothing. Next day,the halter went back on and leading lessons began. She threw a couple of major fits,but soon caught on. I also gave her a brushing and she let me pick up all four feet,although she fought my holding them for longer than just a few seconds. Over the next 1 1/2 weeks up to today, with only one short 10 min. session each day as I've been gone alot,she has gotten quite good at leading,with only the occasional balk.She'll stick her nose into the halter,hold her feet up for a decent amount of time now,you can touch and brush her all over,she's learning to yield off of pressure,and she ties. I've discovered that she is extremely affectionate and loves attention. She meets you at the gate,and will follow you around like a puppy.She is also a little bossy and can be pushy at times,especially when it comes time for her pellets/grain,so we are working on that one. All in all,a good amount of progress.


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## countryryder (Jan 27, 2012)

To get you up to speed on Missy:
To begin,Missy was pasture born and has had no handling and little human contact up to the time of my picking her up.Missy was weaned three days ago,and we brought her home that night. She trailered like a pro,and settled in at home with only minimal fuss,with an instant attachment to our sheep,of all things! The following morning she was moved in with Lena.Lena showed her bossy side,and got a little ornery with her,but Missy was more than happy to let her be boss,so all ended well. I spent the afternoon just hanging out in the pen and following her around,letting her get used to this scary human;she eventually let me get close and ate some hay from my hand,but any attempt to reach out towards her and she was gone. That evening,I put her and Lena in the stall to have their crunchies,and with lots of patience and persistence,she eventually let me touch her.Once I made that first contact,she decided this wasn't so bad after all,and by the time I let her back out,she had let me rub her back,neck and bum,although her head was off limits in her opinion.Today,we made great progress. It started by her letting me walk up to her at the feeder and give her some scratches without her shying and bolting away. I put them in the stall and she let me brush her body,legs,and neck;found an itchy spot and worked on that for a while,much to her happiness. Then,this evening when they went back into the stall for their pellets,we worked on her letting me touch her head and face. It ended with her actually letting me slip on a halter,with no fuss.  Ah,sweet progress..


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## countryryder (Jan 27, 2012)

So,Missy now leads and ties.She's still a little shy about being caught at times,but once you get a hold of her than she soaks up the scratches and brushes.The big issue we've been dealing with this week is getting her used to having her lower legs and feet handled.She gets very aggressive when you try touching her lower legs or asking her to pick up her feet;ears pinned,biting,striking/kicking out,trying to pin you against the fence,not acting scared,just annoyed.She got in big trouble every time she tried it,and she's catching on that that's not acceptable behavior.Today,all four feet got picked up and held with no issues,good girl!
Both her and Lena also got dewormed this week.
Lena also got some trimming done on her fronts as they were very long and starting to chip pretty bad.Next is her backs.Takes a while as she's not so good at balancing on three legs yet.


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