When we first began capturing footage for “Freedom’s Choice,” I would show up at the barn with my cameras 4 or 5 days a week to shoot Emma as she led Freedom through the paces required to take her from a “green” horse to a “trained” horse.   Typically, these training sessions could include grooming or batheing Freedom in the barn, working at Liberty with Freedom in the nearby pasture and in the round pen, or perhaps training Freedom to allow Emma to ride her.  I was so impressed with Emma’s patient control of Freedom and the loving connection that was beginning to develop between the two of them as the training progressed.

Here’s some rough footage I took of them on November 5th, 2008.

A month later, some dramatic changes have occurred.  Foremost, Emma has decided to experiment with a new horsemanship approach for Freedom based on the Nevzorov Haute Ecole philosophy.  (See Emma’s post on Nevzorov Haute Ecole for more information.)  Freedom has been moved to a more natural environment supporting the approach, and she now gets to choose whether or not she will join with Emma in this new adventure. 

The following footage taken on December 6, 2008, just one month later, demonstrates Freedom’s ability to  now make her own choices about engaging with humans.

As you can see, Freedom engages and disengages, eats, visits with neighbors, and takes a siesta – WHEN SHE CHOOSES.  So Emma and I show up and wait for Freedom’s choice.  The humans are not in charge!

(That’s Barbara Johnson Freedom is loving on, our wonderful photographer and friend.)

From spending too much time in her stall at our previous facility, and not having enough pasture time in fields without mud, Saoirse has developed a nasty case of thrush.  My farrier, who is an extremely intelligent, gentle, and knowledgeable man has instructed me to pick her feet out every other day, pour vinegar into her frogs, and apply this clay-like substance “Uptie” into the crevices of the frog. Last but not least, I am to apply a hoof shaped piece of paper to allow the clay time to dry before getting dirt into it. Though this process on its own is a little daunting, the added difficulty of Saoirse’s strong aversion to having her feet worked with has proven to be a challenge.

My method as been to bring her into her stall, letting her be at Liberty, as I gently and reassuringly take my time with conducting the above process.  My farrier, who has been working with Saoirse since she was a baby, has told me some difficult stories about bad experiences Saoirse has had with having her feet ferried, so I am not tempted to become irritated with her, but am taking my time and being as compassionate to her needs as I can be.

I am proud to report in only a week her anxieties about her feet have greatly diminished!  When I did her feet on Saturday she stood relatively quietly, only moving about the stall a few times to avoid me picking her feet.  I am heading over to the barn now to do another treatment and have hopes she will be even more relaxed this time.

I had a very interesting experience the other day when I put the halter on Saoirse for the first time since moving her to her new home.  She immediately became submissive, head down, calm and easy steps by my side as I led her to her stall to try and pick her hooves.  Instead of being impressed at the well-mannered nature of my horse as I would have been previous to my training in Canada, I was appalled and slightly sickened by the lack of expression on her face.  Since the move to her new facility, Saoirse has become vibrant, alive, and more “horse like”.  I like her spirit, and do not ever want to engage in techniques that will take that away from her in order to make her more “useful” to me.  When I say “spirit” I do not mean she is wild or unsafe, but myself and others who have know her before and after I’ve been applying these new principles to our interactions, have noted a difference in her demeanor which actually makes her more approachable. It’s the difference between “teaching” her to want to be with me, and allowing her to choose to be with me.  It sets the stage for an entirely different attitude from the horse.

The first few weeks in the new facility have been rewarding.  Saoirse has settled in beautifully and has become fast friends with her new stable mate.  I have been taking my time, engaging Saoirse in play. This often consists of me trying to keep up as she gallops with joy through her new open fields.  Turning to look at me when she stops with a quizzical look of, “why didn’t you keep up?”  Sometimes she’ll take off and if i don’t follow, she’ll do an entire lap around the field and come right back to where I’m standing pleased with herself and ready for praise from Mom. 

I have also become aware of how much she loves to be brushed with one particular Oster main and tail brush I have.  I think with her winter coat (which is remarkably bushy) the long hard bristles of the main and tail brush must scratch in just the right places.  For this grooming ritual she’ll stand quietly without eating.  Another reason I have been using this brush is because my other two Oster brushes have mysteriously disappeared.  I left them in the field and my friend whose gelding lives at the barn with Saoirse told me she brought them back and set them on the trashcan (which I might mention is in reach of Saoirse from over the side of her stall).  I haven’t seen the brushes since.