One of the most frustrating things with Scout is that he either doesn’t understand what the whip is for, or he is completely desensitized to it (I keep wondering if he was beaten with one at some time). When I got him, he had only been longed loose in a round pen, and although I thought he learned how to longe on a line quickly, I soon realize that it was out of fear. If we stopped and I wanted him to start again, it was next to impossible because he wanted to stay close and didn’t respond in any way to a whip.

After several sessions, sometimes just tapping for a dozen or more times before getting a response from the whip, he is starting to get the idea, but it always seems like the proverbial three steps forward, two steps back. Once he does learn something, though, it seems permanent. Although he is still quite ear-shy, I can always at least touch his ears as long as I don’t try to rub them. He might move away at first, but once he lets down his guard, he will drop his head so that his ear makes contact with my hand, and he will leave it there as long as I don’t move my hand.

As you can see from his photo, his eye is not wild, and by the end of a training session, he looks like he’s ready to fall asleep. I’m not sure he is entirely relaxed, though, and I sometimes suspect he has some “learned helplessness.” He is reluctant to try anything new, perhaps out of fear. Maybe it isn’t even something that he developed but is a protective strategy. He’s not a new gather, by any means, though. He was gathered (a euphemism for captured) as a yearling and adopted out within a few months – he is eight now. This experience is just as much about me learning about mustangs as it is for Scout to learn how to adapt. Although he has lived in a domestic setting for about seven years, he has not been handled as much and was ridden only four months. I’m anxious to get on him to see how he does, but I also want to make sure it is a positive experience and that he is ready for it.