Stelkia Ranch

When we say these horses are surefooted because they grow up on steep mountain slopes, this is what we mean.

Aaron found one of the high mountain herds today, while out cutting trail.

(Don't mind the shaky video, it's challenging to record while traversing steep, rocky terrain while leading a string of pack horses 😅)

Casper

Getting over his fear of saddles.

Casper is a very kind and friendly guy, who has taken to training exceptionally well.

With everything but a saddle...

For some reason, he is terribly afraid of saddles, to the point that he breaks out in a sweat and starts full body quivering.

So today, we placed a bunch of saddles around the round pen, gave him some time to himself in there, then started asking him to move his feet. Within about 15 minutes, he was ready to let the trainer stand next to him (on both sides) holding a saddle while remaining relaxed and comfortable.

Tuff

Enjoying some good strong scratches.

2yr old Palomino

Learning about picking his feet up.

flaxen liver

More saddling, today we lifted the cinch up so he can get used to the feel of it.

Saddling is one of the biggest hurdles, aside from being introduced to a rider, for these wild horses. Their strong survival instincts kick in. In the wild the only thing that would land on their backs would be a predator. It takes a lot of trust, and repeat exposure to saddling to help them overcome their instincts. The older they are when they come in off range and begin their training, the harder it is for them to overcome this, and it takes much longer.

Toothless

Touching him all over his back and under his belly, and sacking out with a saddle blanket.

Aaron's out cutting trail to get ready for the September sheep hunts. Demonstrating the importance of teaching a horse to be mounted/dismounted from either side and ponying.

New Boy!!
OIB Buckskin paint

Today was all about learning to turn in towards the trainer and facing up.

(You can see in this video how quickly a wild horse can take a liking to one side or the other.
He really wanted to only go one direction, and was more reluctant to turn in going the other way. He also took a liking to turning to face in only one spot in the pen.)

Blocking undesirable behavior, while making what you want them to do the easier choice is essential to building a respectful partnership.

Casper

Started working on touching his back legs today, with brushing down to his hocks.