Things are going very smoothly. I think last night, I finally got us
back to the point where we were before my 3 day vacation. Last night
he finally let me rub him on the face and neck without trying to kick
me and without me reaching under momma to touch him. He was still
very anxious and seemed confused. His little hooves just kept popping
off the ground as his internal conflict was happening ("he's touching
me ... kick him ... but wait ... it feels okay, and he's out here all
the time ... but still kick him ... but it feels good ... etc").
Today he and momma went out into the 8 acres of pasture for the first
time together. The first thing Buck did when he got out of the pen
they've been in, is to chase the chickens. It was a hoot to watch.
He looked like a full blown bucking bronc as he tried to pounce on the
chickens. I got a good laugh about it. When I get home tonight,
we'll see how they did.
I'm learning so far that in order to raise a colt right, it takes time
and dedication. Any time that you allow yourself to not get out there
and touching them takes your progress backwards. My time line went as
follows: birth followed by 1 1/2 days of constant contact with me, 3
days away from home, and now 4 days with him again. I feel like I'm
back to where I was before I left town. It seems like these young
un's will slip back to being antisocial very quickly, which is why
I've made it a point to get my hands on him at least 2 times a day.
Even if it's only for 5 minutes, at least my presence was made known.
I sure hope I'm doing this stuff right. ;)
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