Mustang Saga

Back to work! No more standing around visiting and treat-fests. Well, a little bit of that.

The boys are going to the trainer on MONDAY! EEK! I didn't do any of the trailer practice I intended to do. Or the standing tied. Or anything at all really.

So this afternoon after I talked to the trainer we worked on standing tied. I figure he needs to know that before I can tie him in the trailer. He's a pro at it so far. He didn't mind at all, seemed to understand already that he wasn't going to be going anywhere, and accepted the fact. Well, with a bit of pawing. I'm assuming he'll get over that with time if it doesn't do him any good.

In between tying sessions we did some ground work and went over poles and onto the dreaded horse-eating stall mats. Just to break up the monotony, and maybe make standing tied seem better than the alternative.

After he stood tied for a while with only distant supervision (I was having a treat-fest with the other horses) I figured he needed to do something so he wouldn't think getting untied meant immediately going back to his buddies and lounging in the grass. I took him into the shade and we played with the surcingle. I eventually kind of hand tightened it without committing to anything, and would wait until he stopped backing up (he was backing very slowly) or if his feet weren't moving but his eyes were hard I'd wait until he relaxed a bit, then I'd loosen it up, take it off, and start over. He's still really iffy about anything around his armpits, even a brush. But he's not throwing a fit.

He's looking so good now! All shed out and shiny. Well, not ALL shed out, he still has some winter hair on his belly and long whiskers under his jaw. But he's looking good. The grass and running around is covering up some of his raw-boned look. I would have taken a picture but my camera wasn't here.

I am back to being in love with my boy, and thinking we can do anything. I'm just really glad he's going to a professional to get it done right, and consistently.

I'm so nervous about that trailer ride though! If it was just him I'd throw him in loose and go, but it's the two of them, and I don't want them stepping all over each other. I'm hoping to have him cool with the divider by then. We'll see. Going to do some trailer loading and hanging out in there in the morning. All hitched up and ready! Actually I was going to do it tonight but a really crazy wind/thunder storm came up. It was great, but not a good time to train a horse!

I'll try to have some pics of my gorgeous beast for you tomorrow.