A doubly good day!

Today was our first beautiful weather day in quite a while! And we got to go to a new Ranch today!! Double good!

This morning we started off meeting at McDonald’s and then we all followed Sara and Michael to the Ranch. These horses were a little different than the others we have worked on, they were a little more active and such, it was a nice change!

The first horse I had was a really cute little young one… I still want to go back, pack her up and take her home! When I first took her out of the field she was really quiet and very responsive to my questions through the lead rope, I actually second guessed myself and thought that she was an older horse – she was just too good!!!

When we got the horses is the arena and started working I realized that I was in for a challenge. She was very willing but was very cunning and knew how to work me! Sara came over and helped me out a bit and I was actually able to get a lot done with her, I really feel that I grew a lot today by working on her – we really hit it off! It was a lot of following and eventually I gained her trust and attention and was able to work on her shoulder and spine, I only worked on her rump from the side as I didn’t quite trust her feet. She really liked having me work under her tail and I seemed to get a lot of her attention when I was working there. I really like her!!!!
The second horse I worked on was also a bit of a challenge… they all look so innocent in the field… then you get them in the arena and it is a whole different situation! I had a lot of trouble getting her to settle and getting her attention, but I took the ideas Sara had shown me earlier and applied them to this horse and she started to come around. Little did I know that she was actually a mom looking for her baby! She kept looking to the door and pacing around me, it wasn’t until I actually looked under her tummy and saw that she had large girl parts – and not boy parts – that I realized that she might be looking for a baby! Considering she was scanning for a child while I was working on her, I was very impressed how gentle she was with me until I – the naive human – finally figured out what she searching for, I was even able to get her attention for a few minutes, despite the other things!
That takes us to lunch time – we were lucky enough to be served a home cooked meal for lunch by the people who own the Ranch! This was very generous! This afternoon we worked on one more horse each and the first one I picked out was not feeling very well so I let her go and ended up with Pistol, he was a really big Chestnut that was kind of tired because he had been working all day! He gave me some confidence to work on the haunches and he was very responsive and really enjoyed it! He was also really happy to let me work on his neck! He was very calm and supportive!
Overall today was one of the best “horse working” days I have had since I got here, they are all good, but I have a few that really stick out for me and I will hold them close for a long time! I am really greatful for the horses that we are able to work on to perfect our craft, I think I will go back home with a whole new outlook! You really take “quiet” horses for granted until you realize that they all aren’t like that! The one ranch we go to a lot has some of the best teachers I have ever met!
Have a great night everyone, much love
Love Sara XXO