Hard to Believe Malachi is 7 Weeks Old! Lots of New Photos Below
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This photo was taken at 3 weeks old, but our boy horse is almost two months now (see below) and is definitely proving every day that deep down every horse on the planet would prefer to be in relationship than not. Born of two wild unhandled parents he is completely unafraid of people or other horses. Perhaps too much so. I’ve brought everyone from the herd down at one time or another to see how they respond to Noelle and Malachi. Noelle reads the attitude right away and doesn’t approach if she suspects issues – like with Mariah. Mariah is not a snotty horse inside the herd but she wanted absolutely nothing to do with either Noelle or Malachi. Noelle kept her distance but Malachi kept coming, sticking his head through the fence, clicking his mouth “please don’t hurt me I’m just a baby” and each time he did that I had to restrain Mariah with the lead rope to keep her from striking with her mouth. Very unlike her normal behavior. Even Cash was a tad crusty with Malachi although I tend to read it as educational. He had to climb out of his usual easy going demeanor when he was educating Mouse at one year old. That’s the only way Mouse would listen, and Cash did a good job. But Malachi is too young for that yet which is probably why mama hasn’t started any serious discipline even when he’s crawling all over her (see below) or biting her hard on the back of the legs. I, for one, wish she would get on with the discipline thing because it would help me with his desire to bite. I do use discipline, and diversion. Pocket and Mouse were both very sweet with Noelle and Malachi (see below). They all did lots of nose sniffing and blowing, and both Pocket and Mouse were very gentle with Mal. BTW, the fence you can see at the very top right corner of the above photo is the gate into the hillside pasture where the herd lives, which is why this is Noelle’s favorite place to hang out because she can exchange looks and greetings with the other horses whenever one approaches the gate.
3 Weeks
3 Weeks – Pestering Mama
25 Days
Note the loose lead line. This is the first time Malachi was lead out of the “playpen” (Kathleen’s name for the stall where the early training and imprinting was done). Here we’re over by the paddock fence, maybe 30 or 40 feet away from the playpen… and maybe 50 feet away from mama.
Same Day
Eye booger gone.
Same Day
Mal gets playful.
Still 25 days old
Stepping onto his pedestal.
Sometimes he steps up all by himself to peer over the corral rail at mama even when he’s free to use the gate to get to her. Stepping onto pedestals is something he’ll never be worried about as an adult. Again many thanks to Allen Pogue for pressing this point.
Four and a half weeks old
What a pretty boy!
Four and a Half Weeks
Four and a Half Weeks – Out in the Free World
Six and a Half Weeks
Meeting Aunt Pocket
7 Weeks Old – Howdy Benji.
His 7 Week Old Birthday Present
A stroll in the free world at liberty, no halter or lead.
He stayed very close.
7 Weeks – but still a baby
Once again, many thanks to Kathleen for the gorgeous photography. I think she’s found a new career. Who’d of thought a lawyer would have such a nice eye :)
I hope you’ll follow us on Twitter. It’s been fun “tweating” bits and pieces and photos when something cool happens out in the pasture.
Joe
Note added July, 2011:
Noelle’s and Malachi’s stories are chronicled in the book The Soul of a Horse Blogged – The Journey Continues. One fantastic reason to jump into Kindle right now is that Amazon has lowered the price on the Kindle version of The Soul of a Horse Blogged to $4.99! Imagine. 175 of Kathleen’s amazing photos in living color! Tons of live video and resource links that you can touch and watch instantaneously. See the horses and moi actually demonstrating what you’ve just read about. Right there on your phone or other device. And the icing on the cake, at least according to those who’ve consumed it, is that you’ll have an entertaining, enlightening, and fun read as well. All for only $4.99.
It’s a brave new world indeed :).
Who Needs Hollywood – Kindle on Amazon – $4.99
The Benji Method – Kindle on Amazon – $5.99
Includes an hour-and-a-half of training video with Benji and Joe
All of our books are also available in NOOKbook format on Barnes & Noble, but Nook appears to have issues with video links, at least some of them, so for now if you’re downloading free apps I’d stick with Kindle.
I hope y’all enjoy! And please tell us about your experience. joe@thesoulofahorse.com
Joe
