Joseph and I took a nice long walk today. He's so handsome and fuzzy.
He was really weird when I went to catch him. I don't know if he was jazzed up about the 4-wheeler or the yappy chihuahuas that were in a pickup in our front yard (people come to buy the 4-wheeler), or if I was electric, or what, but he just about fell down running away from me at least three times. He'd stand and let me approach, then just explode into motion and slip in the mud. Eventually he was brave enough to let me stand next to him and lean on his shoulder, keeping my hands to myself for a few minutes before I haltered him. Then we had a lovely walk.
We saw some strange goats - Joseph thought they might be friends of his.
We had to squeeze between these barrels. Joseph went right up and stuck his nose on one of them, then walked through.
My sweet boy:
We trotted along for a ways. I haven't tried that away from home yet, and haven't done it at home much either. I thought he'd think we were running from something, but he just watched me closely to try to set his pace to mine. What a guy.
I just love that horse. I think he may be a "reader" - super sensitive to everything you are communicating to him and to everything in the environment. But that sort of horse, once his trust in you solidifies and settles in, will just be fabulous - he will do anything for you. It just takes a lot of time and patience and a willingness to take everything very slowly, which you have shown a willingness to do.
ReplyDeleteMy Bella is that way too. When I get to feeling discouraged I think about how far she and I have come, and that it didn't happen overnight. With her having a foal and then being lame, we spent a lot of extra time before saddle training. And now we have an excellent relationship, but even so if I look at her too intensely, she moves.
ReplyDeleteThat sensitivity seems to be a common trait among mustangs, especially the ones that were gathered.
ReplyDeleteLove the Joseph stories :)