Monday December 3 2022
Mare paddock, Molly focus
New software publishing interfaces are interesting.
Why did I switch from Blogger to Substack?
I had the Blogger Kaimanawa sites because the interface was familiar. In the last several years many of the ‘free’ blog spaces have been censored by the hosts. Thankfully I was not censored; however, some of the people that I follow were, which was annoying and disappointing. Blogger (a Google service) is one of the hosts that censored information. Supposedly, Substack is censor free, hence my move here.
What kind of community am I looking to build?
I am not just starting a blog when I start a Substack, I am starting a community. You invite people to subscribe to your thinking. What kind of space will this be? I hope to include you in my experiences with my horses and implementing Elsa Sinclair’s Freedom Based Training techniques, especially with my Kaimanawa horses (Molasses, Revelation, Ponga, and Ricochet).
How often will I be posting?
In December 2022 and January 2023 I will be posting on odd calendar days as I am on vacation from work AND I will be participating in Elsa Sinclair’s Advanced Online Course in January 2023.
When I resume working, posts will be less frequent, probably weekly. Unlike Blogger, when I post you will receive an email, so you will know when I post rather than having to check.
Substack has free and paid posts. I am going to start with only free posts, although I am considering having paid posts for those that want to sponsor certain horse related activities.
Mare paddock, Monday = Molly is my focus today
When I enter the paddock for the first hour, Reva walks up to me and says hello.
Molly walks in from the south of the property. One of my challenges earlier this year was that when I came out into the paddock I was a novelty, which meant that I was often mobbed by all 6 horses. It is overwhelming to be surrounded by all 6 horses at once because there is a lot of pushing and shoving between them and a possibility of my getting stuck between them and accidentally kicked or bitten. With the mares and fillies separated for weaning, I now have the opportunity to work with smaller groups of horses and hopefully become less of a novelty.
Molly is uncertain about why I am in the paddock. I do not have any food and have forgotten to bring a brush to groom her with. Eventually she joins Reva in eating from the hay bags. Every time Molly looks at me I move, when she goes back to eating I mimic her stance. I am working on her becoming confident of my being in her space without an agenda.
The second hour I spend with the Molly and Reva I realise that Molly, Reva, and Dolly are all in heat. Dolly acts submissively to Molly over the fence. Molly tries to mutually groom Comet over the fence; however, he is uninterested and walks away.
I have brought the brush with me and end up grooming Molly before leaving the area. Being outside makes me realise that Dolly is uncomfortable trying to eat from the hay bags with Ponga, Ricki, and Comet under the shed so I end up moving 2 bags outside hanging on the pens far enough apart that Dolly feels comfortable.
Thank you Karen for sending me this new blog. You are right, if it comes to my Inbox I'm more likely to read it. I really enjoy the pictures; your horses are beautiful! When I see how much space they have and hear you describe your time with them, I wonder how you find time to do much else beside care for them (and Al of course). Enjoy your time with them ~ they're previous.