Miss Carmen is your pretty typical 5 year old. She's happy to stand in the cross ties for a minute or so and then becomes bored. She will paw and shuffle and generally look surprised that I would expect her to stand there.
'come on mom, I've been here for HOURS. And I'm bored. And hungry. And I'm pretty sure I have to pee"
I maintain my patience and keep putting her back to where I want her and praising her for standing still. I do correct the pawing though.
The other day I was giving her a thorough grooming and she was feeling pretty restless. I just kept working away. I usually save the tail for last. I sprayed in some Cowboy Magic (I like it for keeping the mud out of it) and began to brush it. She did not like the spraying
'ohh oooh. it feels weird!"
I just ignored this and kept spraying. I then started brushing. Carmen has a beautiful tail- thick and wavy. I quite enjoy brushing it and getting out the bits of hay and shavings, untangling the knots etc. As I was brushing I realized that she was standing perfectly still. I looked up- her head was lowered, her eyes were soft and it was clear that she was really enjoying the attention.
Turns out that my princess likes to have her hair done.
That's too cute! My princess Mystic likes her neck brushed. :)
ReplyDeleteLucy hated me spraying her tail at first, too. Her favorite thing is to have the underside of her neck curried. There's nothing like a spa day, right?
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that Carmen is settling in so well; it is wonderful to follow along as you get to know each other and she becomes accustomed to being a Maritimer now! I check your blog daily for updates, you have such a wonderful way with your animal companions and the humor in your writing always shines through :)
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY how I feel when the stylist is washing MY hair...
ReplyDeleteLol, pampering is a Good thing.... ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to bond. Now out of curiosity, if she were not in cross ties, would she stand still while you groom her?
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good question. She will stand pretty still outside and let me groom her but then Irish gets jealous. In her stall she's a bit more restless but pretty good.
DeleteShe seems calm and very intelligent so I'm sure she would learn quickly to stand still without restraints. I have never used cross ties on mine.
DeleteHehehe! That is so cute! Chrome loves for his tail to be brushed too. He just loves grooming in general and will usually fall asleep while I'm brushing him, even if he's loose out in the pasture with no halter or anything. My donkey and goats don't bother me though so it's easy out there. :)
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