• Gender: Filly
  
• Age: 5 months
  
• Color: Red Dun
• Born: April/May 2009
• Weight as of 4/5/2010: 365 kg
  
• Height as of 4/5/10

• Sire: Cadillac Coyjack (QH)
• Sire Height: 15.1h
  
• Dam: Green 100 (Belgian Cross) 
  
• Siblings: Half sister to RU Shivna and RU The Good Witch (Class 2009) and many others through her sire.

• Students: Melissa Reese 
  
• Sponsors: Dr. and Mrs. Bauer

It has been an eventful month for the young horses here at Rutgers.  The most exciting event: moving day! On March 18^th, we moved the horses to the red barn on College Farm Road. For the most part, the move went smoothly. All of the horses settled into their new stalls and turnouts without much fuss. Brisa was in the first group to make the trip. She went with three of the other fillies, and she shared her half of the trailer with her friend Genesis.
            Brisa knew something new and exciting was happening as soon as we started loading our equipment into the truck. She was very anxious to get out of her stall by the time we were ready to load the horses on the trailer. She was a little suspicious of the trailer at first, but she got on after thoroughly investigating the walls and floor. Once we arrived at the red barn, she cautiously stepped off the trailer and walked right into her new stall. Best of all, her stall in the red barn has a window, which she really enjoys!
            Since the move, Brisa has settled in beautifully. She still likes to explore the new barn, and she always finds something to keep her entertained. She has been on the scale and in the wash stall. She has also been on the cross ties, and she was not at all bothered when I turned on the hose in the wash stall. We also discovered that Brisa loves dogs! Earlier this week, she was following the dog all around the barn, and even tried to follow him under the table! She is really enjoying her new surroundings.
            Brisa has also started her sessions with her Ag Field Day students. They get along very well, and they are learning and progressing together. I am looking forward to seeing how they do on Ag Field Day!

Brisa is still doing well. She has continued to gain confidence in her training, and she is really a joy to work with. She has developed into a very people-oriented horse. Every time I go to the barn, she is at the front of her stall watching everything that is going on. If I approach the stall, she immediately goes to the door and wants me to take her out. We have practiced making her wait in her stall with the door open, since she looks forward to any opportunity to leave her stall. She knows to wait patiently until I tell her to step into the aisle. Once she is out of the stall, Brisa enjoys socializing with anyone who happens to be standing in the aisle. She is a very sweet and affectionate filly.
    Although Brisa enjoys interacting with people during our training sessions, she still gets down to business when it is time to work. She has made lots of progress in the scary aisle, and now walks down the aisle and into the stalls when asked. She also likes to go all the way to the end of the aisle so I can open the door for her to look outside.  Even though she was nervous at first, her curiosity is now getting the better of her as she spends more time exploring the scary aisle.
    Brisa also performed well on the last few tests we have done. When she was introduced to the dust buster, she had no problems with it while it was turned off. She spooked when it was first turned on, but she soon got over her fear and let us rub it over her body. She had a similar initial reaction to the needle when we tried to draw the first round of blood samples for Dr. Ralston’s nutritional research.  She backed away at first, but then figured out that she would get a reward for standing still. When I drew more blood yesterday, she didn’t even flinch. Once again, I am very proud of Brisa. I love watching her grow into a beautiful, well-mannered horse.

Brisa has continued her training over winter break and is still making great strides. After working hard during the last two months, she is solidly in “fourth grade.” She is now able to walk, halt, back up, turn, and trot on the lead line with ease. Yesterday she passed her behavior evaluation with flying colors. We added a new twist to the behavior evaluation this time, as each horse’s student got a chance to execute the test pattern after Dr. Ralston finished. Brisa was well-behaved and responsive for Dr. Ralston and for me as we put her through her paces.
         This semester, we are planning to step up the intensity of training and continue testing the horses to get them ready for Ag Field Day. We will also continue desensitizing them to novel objects and other stimuli. Brisa has gotten over her fear of the clippers, although she still does not enjoy having them near her face. She does, however, let me turn them on and rub them all over her body and down her legs. This is a huge improvement.
     The scary aisle still presents a bit of a challenge for Brisa. She is much more comfortable with another horse to keep her company. I have noticed that this tends to be the case no matter where she is. She does not like being by herself. She usually calms down when I give her something else to focus on, such as working on her commands. This semester, I plan to be more consistent about separating her from the other horses and building her confidence during our training sessions. She is a smart, talented horse, and I have no doubt that her performance will continue to improve.

It is hard to believe that another month has gone by already. Brisa continues to learn and grow. I am very proud of the progress she has made. During the last month, Brisa has taken huge steps in her training. She can now halt and back up on command without any extra pressure on the lead rope. She can also perform a turn-on-the-forehand and a turn-on-the-haunches in both directions. She has gotten much better about standing still for longer periods of time, and she can be easily lead from either the right or left side.

Brisa has completed more behavior tests and has done very well overall. She walked over a large piece of cardboard on the ground without hesitation, curiously investigated a jolly ball, and stood while having a towel rubbed all over her body. Her confidence continues to impress me. We have also re-evaluated some skills from the initial behavior test in the round pen. This time Brisa stood perfectly for one minute, and she allowed Dr. Ralston to pick up each of her hooves without problem. Brisa received an “A” for each of these tasks and was officially promoted to “second grade.”

In addition to the behavior tests, I also worked on free-lunging Brisa in the round pen for the first time. She did an excellent job! She was a bit distracted at first, but she soon understood that she was supposed to move forward in a circle around me. After only a few minutes, Brisa was walking nicely around the round pen. She also stopped and changed direction on command. After we were done, she allowed me to approach and scratch her (her favorite reward), and proceeded to follow me around without a lead rope. She has certainly bonded with me, and she has a very affectionate personality.

Brisa has also been working on conquering her fear of the scary aisle. She has gotten much more confident, although she still prefers to have another horse around to keep her company. I anticipate that she will overcome her fear very soon. Each time I work with her I lead her down the scary aisle. I can see that her nervousness is already being overcome by curiosity. I have no doubt that she will soon accept the scary aisle as just another part of the barn.

    I am very excited to inform you of Brisa’s progress during the last month. She has been taking everything in stride. She now stands calmly while tied in her stall to be groomed. She has quickly learned that she is supposed to pick up her feet when I say “lift,” and she still loves to be brushed. We have done a lot more work on leading in the barn aisle, and Brisa now halts, backs up, and moves a few steps sideways on command. She is very smart and learns quickly. She continues to be more curious than nervous about new things, and she still enjoys exploring the barn aisle and greeting the other horses! Brisa also had her first visit from the farrier earlier this month. After initially trying to pull her foot away, she decided that having her feet trimmed wasn’t so bad. By the time the farrier was done, Brisa was half asleep! Clearly she was not bothered by this experience.

    All of our young horses underwent their first two standardized behavior tests during the last month. The first test involved each horse performing a series of tasks in the round pen, such as standing still for one minute, lifting each of their feet, walking over a broom, and listening to loud applause. Each horse was handled by Dr. Ralston. During her test, Brisa was a bit nervous about being alone in the round pen, separated from the other horses. However, she performed well for the majority of the test. She walked over the broom with no problems, and she actually seemed to enjoy the applause! The second behavior test involved Dr. Ralston walking the horses down the “scary aisle,” a part of the barn where the new horses had never been before. Again, Brisa was a bit nervous about being separated from the other horses. But she overcame her fears and walked all the way down the aisle. She was more suspicious of me holding the video camera than of any other obstacle! Once I spoke to her, she seemed to recognize me, and soon walked right past. I was very proud of her!

    When the weanlings arrived on September 11, Brisa was the first brave one to step off the trailer. She curiously investigated her new surroundings and walked into her stall without fuss. She also allowed me to put her halter on in just a few short minutes. Even more impressive was her willingness to accept a second halter, when I discovered that the first one was actually too big! She stood perfectly while I removed the first halter and put the new one on. Brisa is a very intelligent filly, and she learns very quickly.

            Brisa has been making great progress in her training. She is taking everything in stride.  She especially loves to be groomed! She enjoys being brushed all over her body, including her face, and she has already let me clean out her hooves as well. Brisa quickly picked up on the concept of leading. Now she looks forward to any opportunity to leave her stall and go on an adventure! She is very polite while being led up and down the barn aisle and out to the paddock. She is extremely inquisitive and loves to explore and investigate new things.