GypsyDreaming

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Wundowie, WA
GypsyDreaming

Trekking with my clydesdale horses and camels. Walking quietly on the land to connect with people, nature and enjoy the simpler things in life. I wanted to live.

It all started when I was 29 and having a quarter life crisis…

I couldn’t help thinking there must be more? I had a successful career, had bought a house, was paying double on my mortgage each month – but something was missing – I wasn’t fulfilled. I wanted more from life. I wanted to get back to my root passion of sustainability. So, with fear in my mind but courage in my heart, I quit my job,

shaved my head and headed off around Australia to learn about camels as a sustainable form of transportation.

12 years later, I'm now custodian of 2 clydesdale horses and camels. I want to go trekking with them to enjoy the simpler life of walking, connecting and sharing space with others. But how to turn dream into reality? One baby step at a time... and that's the journey I'm on... documenting it so I can look back and see how far I've come, but also sharing it with the world in the hope to inspire others to have the courage to follow their own dreams.

17/09/2022

Integration successful!! 🙌🏼😍

6 months later and they’re all calmly grazing at the same fence line together. Feels like an awesome milestone!

I won’t be putting them in the same paddock together due to Kyron’s spontaneous ability to charge and chase, and due to different worming requirements between horses and camels.

Next step will be taking them out walking together.

WooHoo to progress!!!

14/09/2022

The reality of owning animals. I’m out fencing in the rain because Kyron 🐪 has learnt to escape. It’s a big problem!!

We started to upgrade the fencing on the weekend to replace the temporary set up we did when they first arrived. But it’s a big job and we ran out of new electric tape.

Pray with me that I do a good enough bodge job that it keeps them enclosed until the weekend 🤞🏼

Oh and Soley pulled me over yesterday when I was getting him back in the paddock, much to his protest.

Having big pets isn’t always the easiest but the rewards far outweigh the cons!

I keep telling myself everything is figureoutable! Onwards!! ✌🏼

12/09/2022

I have so much updating to do. I got a bit behind, but plan on catching up soon. This is week 14 of trek training.

Last week it came through strong that I need a plan - not just for trek training, but all that I’m doing in life.

I got advice that I shouldn’t train the camels unless I had someone with me in case something went wrong and I got hurt. Makes sense and it had me stalled for a little bit, until I worked it out and I implemented the plan today. I simply tell my friend down the road when I’m starting a training session and when I’m finished. If she doesn’t hear from me, she knows to come check everything is alright. Perfect.

I did 2 training sessions today - taking both Kyron and Sol out of the paddock separately. I want to see how both react when I want to take them away from something they like. I walked them around a bit and let them eat, then coaxed them back to the paddock when we were ready. They both resisted a little, but didn’t pull away from me and followed me back to the paddock. I was SO proud of them both (and me!) and filled them with carrots (their favourite treat!).

I expect it to get easier from now on and to be able to walk them a little further each time. The goal is to walk them around the outside of the paddock, essentially around our fire break. Once I can do this with them both individually, I’ll work on walking them together with the spider.

On the weekend, Soley was pulling away from me and had a few s**c attacks, so the improvement is already epic.

Love this journey and love these boys ❤️🐪❤️🐪❤️

10/08/2022

There hasn’t been much training happening lately due to lots of rain and windy conditions. Soon, I’ll start hooking the boys up together and walking them by myself, but at this early stage I still need someone to help me as the boys and I are still getting used to everything. Safety first.

This video is the first time I’ve walked the boys together via the help of a spider (a harness). I made this harness back in 2012 when I first moved back to Perth and was given two beautiful female camels - Shakti and Chinta.

Although I know Kyron has been saddled before, because I’ve seen a photo, this is the first time I’ve put a girth on him. I’m still very respectful around his body, and give him plenty of s**ce, because he’s only just started to give me permission to be anywhere close to his back end. This is how I’ve known he’s accepting me more. Our bond and respect for each other is growing daily.

Normally, when you walk camels in a string, you would tie the rear camel to the front one. I’m not doing this at the moment as I want Sol to be able to safely pull away if he spooks (which he did) while I’m getting to know each of their personalities. I also don’t want to do more injury to Kyron’s back leg by him getting pulled around.

Since making this video I’ve walked them a couple more times with the spider and they’ve been doing great. We’re just doing quick little sessions at the moment so we end on a good note. I’ve also been making, and introducing, new equipment to make things safer.  Should all go to plan, Lara and I have another horse/camel training session on Friday. We’re both working on getting some go pro camera accessories sorted so we can start documenting the journey in a safe and effective manner.

Onwards!

27/07/2022

Yesterday when Lara and I went out to train the camels, Kyron was biting his feet and had made them bleed (something he does regularly and I haven’t figured out the solution to yet). He was in a bit of a mood and was showing signs of getting ready to chase Sol.

Although Kyron has been castrated, he shows signs of being in rut (the male breeding season in winter is called rut). In the wild, dominant camels in rut chase off other males, which seems to be happening in our little herd dynamic. I’m considering introducing my other female camel (who currently lives on retreat) to see if it would help, or maybe Kyron would be better suited to living with a female instead of a male.

Anyway, I wouldn’t normally try and put the halter on him with his head high, but I wanted to break his behaviour and get his attention.

Kyron can be very intimidating as he blubbers and carries on, and sometimes you don’t know if he’s plotting to kill you or secretly happy to see you! But the more we get to know each other and the more we bond, I know we’ll develop a rock solid connection of trust and respect and I’ll be able to rely on him as my lead camel and best mate. I love that he makes you work for his respect and would not hand it over easily.

He’s a very special camel ❤️

26/07/2022

Lara and I had a great training session today, with both the horses and camels.

Today everything felt possible and I’m excited about the future. On the weekend Brett and I did some training with the camels and I felt the opposite - I wanted to cry and wondered if I’d ever get there. That seems to be the nature of training tho, some days there’s progress and breakthroughs, and others there’s progress and doubt.

I love the breakthrough days!

Today we walked Sol behind Kyron with the use of a spider (a type of harness) and they both adapted really well. Eventually this will allow me to walk Kyron as the lead camel and have Sol tied to him, following along. At this stage I have Sol’s rope loose so if he pulls away and spooks (which he did at one moment today) Kyron won’t get pulled around too much and the rope can slip free. Given Kyron has a back leg injury, I have to factor in his safety to ensure I don’t do more damage.

After training the camels we took the horses walking. We were only going to take Leo, but Missy made it clear she wanted to come too. And what a difference it makes when she offers instead of being made to walk because I’ve decided she will. She was perky, instead of dragging her feet, and Leo has sooo much more confidence when she’s around. We even finished by meeting the horses across the road, up close and personal over the fence. This is a big deal for Leo and I was so impressed with how relaxed he was. It was a breakthrough moment that left me feeling so proud.

Lara is the perfect person to help all of us build our confidence and move forward and we couldn’t be more grateful. She’s such a natural with animals and so relaxed.

Next goal is to hook up a Gro Pro camera to capture more of the experience in a safe manner that still allows for full focus on the animals and training 🙌🏼

One step at a time we’re getting there… ❤️

20/07/2022

Last week Brett and I walked Kyron and Sol around the paddocks on lead ropes for the first time. Kyron’s the leader and Sol follows behind. Both of them were so wonderfully behaved.

At the moment I need 2 people to be able to accomplish this task as we’re not at the point of using a spider yet (a harness that goes on the lead camel which enables another camel to be tied on behind).

I put the spider (I’ll get pics soon) on both camels this week. Kyron was fine but it was a bit much for Sol. Luckily I only really need it for Kyron at this stage anyways.

Today Lara came over and we led the boys around the paddock again, only this time I had the spider on Kyron to start getting him used to it. Both boys were so well behaved 🥰 Lara is also a complete natural with camels even tho she’s not had anything to do with them before. So grateful 😇

I made up a new temp fence area that I let the camels into and on the weekend the boys were out and helping Brett build the lean-to on his new shed. It’s so great to have them more and more integrated in our life ❤️

Unfortunately our property has a poisonous native plant on it, so I can’t let the boys out to free range yet. I’d love nothing more than to have their heads through the house windows!! I’m working on a plan to make it happen 🤩

More baby steps going in the right direction to turn trekking dreams into reality ❤️🙌🏼🐪

11/07/2022

I just created a new area for Kyron and Sol to explore using fake electric fencing (it’s not connected but I’m hoping they don’t discover that!).

It’s interesting to see their different reactions. Kyron is a natural leader, self assured and confident. Where Sol is more edgy and needs to borrow some confidence from Kyron.

It could be to do with age, or it could simply be their personality types. Some individuals are simply born to lead and others to follow - it’s evident in all species.

Love these big boys so much ❤️🐪❤️🐪

07/07/2022

Progress updates from this week 🙌🏼

On Tuesday the ‘trekking gals’ met at Lara’s for a special lunch and to meet Lara’s mob of horses. I took my pendulum and we checked in to see what they thought about going trekking. 4 out of 5 agreed to go with us. The one who was a no is due to age and ability, so he’ll stay behind with Missy. I think they’ll like each other ❤️

Yesterday I put a halter and lead rope on Sol 🐪 and led him around the back paddock for the first time. I stopped him about 3 times to let him know I needed him to keep a bit of s**ce between us, which he understood and maintained a perfect distance after that and was a complete gentleman. I was so proud of him, and of us working as a team. Stoked!

Today, I decided to see how Sol reacted when I took him out of the paddock for the first time. At first he was fine. I opened the gate and let him eat the green pick in the immediate area. But after a while he got more concerned because he couldn’t see Kyron. As Sol got more nervous, so did I, so I decided to put him back in the paddock. Luckily this coincided with him having a bit of a wobbly and I got the gate closed just in time. Next time I’ll make sure Kyron is close, so he has the reassurance and comfort, and I’ll see how that goes. 🤞🏼

Then, this afternoon I took Leo out for a solo walk. We’ve done this together in the past, but not since we moved to Wundowie and there’s a lot of other horses around, which makes him very nervous. We walked a little down the road and got sandwiched between horses either side. It was a bit much for Leo so I made a deal with him to get to a marker ahead and then turn around. We did that and he was completely on edge after walking through the horse sandwich for the second time. He was prancing on his feet, snorting through his nostrils, and would have taken off a million miles per hour if he had the chance. Luckily I remembered to call in the Angel of Calm to help us out. He was able to take a breath and let out some anxiety and we slowly made our way back up the driveway toward Missy. It was intense, he’s such a big horse and can have really big emotions that need to be released. In the paddock he’d run around kicking out with his back leg, but that’s not appropriate when I’m on the end of the lead rope. Thankfully we got through it and I’ll continue to do little steps to build his confidence (and mine too!).

Today was a bit unnerving with both camel and horse experiences, but tomorrow is a new day. And so onwards we go!

04/07/2022

Yesterday we made more progress with integrating the horses and camels by moving the camel’s fencing closer to the horses. There’s now about 4 meters separating them.

I had Sol 🐪 close to the horses for the first day/night (I’m hoping to put him in the neighbouring horse paddock soon) and Kyron 🐪 was segregated out the back. I’ve just swapped the camels around (I keep them separated as Kyron bullies Sol) to see how Kyron goes up close and personal to the horsies 🤞🏼 He often paces the fence blubbering obscenities to them, but I’m hopeful he can still be integrated.

I sat with the horses yesterday once the fencing had been adjusted and got these cute pics. Love my big beauties ❤️😍🐴

28/06/2022

Today Lara and I did our 2nd day of trek training with Missy and Leo. We did a loop around the ring road where I live, which is perfect as there’s lots of other horses to pass, 2 camels (not mine), pet emus, goats and dogs. Of course they were super stars and passed all tests 🤩

I got clear today that Missy’s sensitive feet aren’t the only problem… trekking simply isn’t a good fit for her. It’s kinda like a Mum who’s decided their kids profession, much to their disapproval.

Missy is so happy just being. She’s a big, beautiful hearted, very special horse, who’s happy in the paddock doing her thing. Should she choose to volunteer to go walking when she’s ready I’d love it, but until it’s her choice the pressure is off and we’ll hang out together with no expectations.

Leo on the other hand is very happy to be doing adventurous stuff. He loves being in the lime light, exploring and often drags me along because he’s so keen to charge ahead.

I love how action brings clarity.

Next week a group of us are going to take out Lara’s 5 horses for a special picnic in the bush. Can’t wait! 🙌🏼✨❤️

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Wundowie, WA

Website

https://www.karlahooper.com/gypsy-dreaming/

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