Mustang Saga

August 29, 2006

I finally ponied Tonka! I think we did pretty well considering none of us had done it before. He lagged a little behind where I wanted him, but not always. He did really well when we turned toward him, but not so well when we turned away. Soxy did not like doing it. She was very mad about it, swishing her tail and pinning her ears. Luckily Tonka isn't too easily intimidated. Then she kicked him! He went out toward the end of the rope but he stayed with us while I got Soxy stopped and spanked her! She didn't do anything like that again, and no more tail swishing. you know, she may have ponied horses before. Supposedly she was a Forest Service horse (no US brand though) and if so you'd think she'd have had a pack horse or maybe a pack string with her at some point. But maybe not, or maybe she's just a grumpy mare. They don't recommend using mares to pony horses for that reason. But Soxy is a pretty even-tempered mare most of the time.

Next time I'll take him out in the pasture so we're not stuck in a smaller area constantly maneauvering. And when we've got it down we'll move out into the world. What fun!

Soon we'll be working on trailer loading and tying. I can't wait to be able to haul him places!