Riding!

Every evening (as far as it's possible for them), Brendon and Breyton has been coming here to work with the horses. They go on walks with Arend, and Maarten (horse trainer in progress) has been working with Valk as well. The process of training horses requires lots of patience, but we feel that we've learnt a lot in the 3 months they've been here.  Arend was not really approachable, but now some people can even ride him (although not yet completely alone). Valk did not even come near human beings when we got her, and now she eats from our hands. But the best thing about the horses is how we can build relationships with other people in the process!  It's also great to see how when people work together towards a common goal, things between each other are sorted out to achieve that goal.

Late evening sun. 

 Maarten using the glove technique, to desensitize her to being touched.

Rewarding her for not panicking with a glove on her back. 

 'Styling' his mane with anti-fly spray.

Come rain or shine...for the love of horses.

Last week we had a breakthrough with Arend. Since a neighbor's son had ridden him 'cowboy style' in March, Arend picked up the habit of turning to kick the moment anyone attempted to climb onto his back. This led to nobody being able to get onto his back, even if they just wanted to lead him around (with someone on his back). As a result the team had been getting slightly discouraged, so my mom arranged with 'tannie' Marina, a neighboring horse breeder much more experienced in horse-iness than us, to come visit and give advice. She offered a few valuable tips and tricks, and in a matter of 2 days the boys were climbing onto Arend's back again! Thanks tannie Marina!

Jason (another farm worker who works on a neighboring farm with horses) has also been helping now and then. Here he is on Arend.

Woah! 

Maarten summoned enough courage to ride a bit.

We went all the way to the dam.  

 On the main road. "Oee dis so lekker..."

Our excellent lawnmowers.

Taking a nap. 

Thanks for reading!