Mustang Saga

Bella had her first leading lesson today and she did GREAT! First I just asked her to give me her head to the side, on each side. Then I asked for a step. She figured it out SO quickly. Soon I had 2, 3 steps. Then I tried to get her out the stall door, which meant moving straight forward, which she wasn't ready to commit to, especially on the slick downward slope out the door. So I went back into the stall and gently drove her out. Then we worked some more, and eventually she was walking forward with a pull on her poll! She picked it up quick. It's so easy for them to just set their feet and neck and stand there while you pull them forward. But she did it no problem within about 10 minutes of starting the lesson.

So I thought, "Well, why can't we go out?"

And she thought, "Well, I'm not so sure about this."

Clara wanting part of the action, Bella still unsure:
Here's where she was pretty sure this was a great idea:

I had a an "Oh crap!" moment just after she went out the gate, as she was thinking she might want to take off, but she came around to the pull of the halter, and then I walked with her to the little green grass sprouts. She was deciding the route, but I was totally okay with that, and followed without pulling on her. (Oh, and we were in an enclosed area, just not as sturdily enclosed as her pen.)

When I went to put her back she wasn't so sure she wanted to give up the special eats outside the pen, but she came in after a few minutes of coaxing, and I gave her a double handful of alfalfa and a whole extra meal of grass hay. What a good girl!

I figured out why I can't share video on here. My files are HUGE. I'll either have to learn to compress them or use my old camera for videos.