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Mustang Mare Stump

Sometimes words just get curiouser and curiouser. I wonder how "stump" came to be used in the context of perplexed?

Ennyways...

She writes:

I have a question on the bonder.

We have a little mustang mare that is our lead mare, she rules the place with an iron hoof. I have used the bonder on four of our horses (three of them are mustangs) with great success. But this little mare is stumping me!

We have had her for about 4 years, she's been in captivity probably 7, captured as a 3 or 4 year old. She was horribly abused by her previous owners, we have pretty much just let her be a horse and not expected a whole lot out of her. She allows us to handle her, we can brush her, mess with her, worm her etc. We have been slowly working on her trust and I think we have it. We've been working with her all summer round penning and working on leading etc. She's got all of that down, but she's a snotty little thing. If she wants to be messed with we can catch her, if not hang it up. We have her pastured with our Belgian stud (she may be pregnant, she slipped her foal last year, and our vet can't touch her) She has been in a pen by herself, with other mares, just about everywhere we can stick her. She gets along great with the Belgian, so that's where she's at for the moment.

Anyhow we got some of Marv's videos and today decided it was Susie's turn. She did a little trotting around the pen, with an attitude, not really working off of what we were telling her, she was just doing her thing. When my son started telling her what to do, she just stopped and wouldn't move. I thought it was him, I went in there, she did the same thing, as long as she was allowed to do what she wanted she was fine, the least bit of direction she stopped. She's pretty much fearless, so the lunge whip snapping had no effect. I even tapped her with it, she just stood there. I finally got her going and was able to make her circle about four times, then I quit while I was behind. I'm stumped. I've only done this with four other horses and I'm not an expert by any means, but don't really know how to deal with this one. All the time we've had her, I've always had the feeling that anything I do with her is on her terms only, and that only by her 'grace' She's not a malicious mare, but she's very much an "on my terms only" horse.

Any thoughts or suggestions??

Let's take people out this scenario and imagine that it is two horses; one horse, determined to be the herd leader and the other one unwilling to acknowledge this determination.

What do you think would happen?

It would not be pretty. I assure you, there would be movement.

If, in essence, I tell the horse that I am going to be the leader and I want it to move away from me, I will do what ever I have to do to get compliance. Just like a lead horse would do in the herd.

I would start the process by subtle laid back ears. No compliance, I would advance toward it with teeth bared. If I got there and it had not moved I would bite and would continue to bite as long as it failed to honor my request.

This is EXACTLY how it is done in nature. Both parties accept it.

Now then what distinguishes "biting" from "whipping?"

In "biting" you allow the transgressor to stop the biting by moving away. In whipping you prevent the horse from moving away. In one it's a matter of the receiver's choice, in the other it's a matter of the applier's choice. It is also the difference between justice and domination.

Marv "Horses do not think like humans or they'd be saddling us." Walker

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