Thursday, February 13, 2014

she loves me?

Shyloh's beginning with me was told at She Moved To Texas' Transformation Tuesday. Shy has overcome many fears that she came to me with, but we still have quite a ways to go. I am happy to say that we have not had a meltdown since that time driving over the summer. Just a couple minor bumps. . .like the soybean incident
She is kinda cute. . .
The bumps on our journey are more like Shy trying to get out of something, but she comes right back, no big deal. The meltdowns are something you can feel coming (I now know that) and after, Shy has a hard time coming down and relaxing. I hope those are behind us, but it would not surprise me to see a few crop up now and again.

But in the mean time, Shy is being super lovable and I am soaking it up! I have always been in awe of the people who could whistle and their horses would come galloping to them from the back of some pasture, nickering the whole way. Yeah. . .that was never Shy. It got to the point where she wouldn't run from me anymore, but I would have to walk every step right up to her. I am not holding my breath for a nicker, though. 

This was especially frustrating when Shy lived on 15 acres and she liked to hide in the woods. There were parts to that pasture I never even knew about! I would walk out like, where are all the horses? Then a near invisible path between two trees would open up into a whole new area of pasture. Horsey hide and seek. A couple other people had horses where they would call and the horses would run to the front of the pasture for them. Lucky.

Anyway, lately, Shy has taken a new interest in me. She has been looking up from whatever she is doing in the pasture to acknowledge my car arriving. If I take too long, she wanders to the fence line to see what is going on. Today, I pulled into the barn and Shy quickly walked up to the fence for me! I went out and loved on her a bit before I went into the house. Shy actually stood in the corner (one she never stands in!), staring at the house until I came out. Then she walked the fence to the gate. That really made my heart smile!
Taken from the house, Shy is waiting for me to come back out!
Other things she has been doing is looking up or walking to me when I call her name. She just down right ignored me until recently. I have not been doing anything different that I can think of. . .I think maybe, just maybe, that after two and a half years, Shy is finally coming around to me. I have heard that Haflingers, especially mares, can be hard to crack, but once you do, they are yours for life. Have we finally reached this point? This also brings up another new thing. . . minion chucking, but that's another story. 

16 comments:

  1. She sounds so much like Cash. He was so standoffish when I first met him - didn't like pettings, wouldn't eat treats, would run away from you (at the walk) in the pasture. Over several years he came to trust me, and we formed an amazing partnership. All I can say is, don't take it personally, and have patience. It might take a while, but eventually you will have an amazing bond with her. She's such a special girl, and you are lucky to have each other!

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    1. She has definitely warmed up! She used to not take treats either. Standoffish is the word I was looking for! That was/is Shy! But I am seeing improvement and that makes me happy :)

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  2. AWW see that ~ and I also think she knows it's almost Valentines Day :)

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  3. That is so fabulous! I know how it is with a tough to crack mare. Makes your heart very happy and swell so that it feels like it's going to jump right out of your chest.

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  4. I am so happy for you! It is always great and so rewarding to see your hard work paid off! =)

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  5. It's so exciting to hear stories like this. Loki is also not super demonstrative but maybe one day we'll get there. So happy for you!

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  6. It has taken almost as long for Lily to warm up to me too! I don't know about halflingers, but some mares can sure be hard to crack! So happy for you and Shy! I think it makes all the hard work and dedication all that more rewarding. :)

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    1. Yes. It is nice to know that other horses take some time, too. Makes me feel not alone with the horse that hates me, haha.

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  7. Sounds like she is finally bonding with you, yay.

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  8. Sounds like she is finally bonding with you, yay.

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  9. I get what your talking about. While Camryn nickers, and comes right over, she's aloof for the most part. Rather makes me feel like hired help at times LOL

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    1. I think if I ever got a nicker from Shy seeing me, I would fall over!

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  10. I think Shyloh is in love!! The quiet brooding ones are worth the work. She's noticed that no matter where she goes you are always there. I would venture to guess she went through some really scary stuff before she made it to you. Lucky mare.

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  11. Oo, I think miss Shy is in love! Just in time for Valentine's Day!

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  12. Very happy for you! Q and Shy have so many parallels in their behavior history and present. Its really interesting to me to read your accounts and compare them to my own. Mares!!

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