A Night of Firsts

Tracy was out on Thursday. Normally she comes on Tuesday when I don't bring children, so she was able to meet Aislin. Since we had a trainer, a mommy, and a very light weight willing child, we decided to have some fun and experiment with Prinze. He's worn a saddle before, but never had a rider on his back. Mostly because he is so tiny, he can't bare the weight of a full grown adult. Aislin presented us with a unique opportunity. After doing his ground work and practicing with the saddle, we brought him to the round pen bareback. Tracy held the pony and I help the girl, just in case I needed to rip her off his back quickly. But no such action was needed. Prinze seemed a little confused at first, but then tolerated her quite well. We didn't want to push our luck so after about 5-10 minutes we ended the exercise. It was very encouraging. Prinze knows Aislin. She leads him around and pushes him into fences. He stops when she stops. He walks when she walks. She is also climbing up the fences and jumping all around while I am working with him, which has taught him to tolerate sudden movements and has helped him learn to relax and trust the world around him. I think because it was Aislin on his back, he knew to stay calm and trust. Tracy also taught me how to begin training him to take a bit. It was surprisingly easy. It makes me wonder if he had some sort of training on this before he was rescued. Or maybe he is just very eager to make up for lost time and get on with his life.

Cajun was annoyed that the other horses were getting out and he was stuck in. He kicked at the stall whenever I walked by. So right before I left, I took just a few minutes to bring him down to the round pen. He rolled in the dirt and I had him trot for Tracy to see his improvement on his limp. Tracy has been around horses enough to have a knowledge and confidence I don't have. But because of her lengthy experience she has also experienced more of the dangers horses can represent. It keeps her on her toes and makes her aware of situations I don't see. So she is more confident in the areas you should be confident and more cautious in the areas you need to be cautious. Sometimes I faulter and get cocky when I don't have the expertise to back it up and get scared when I should be confident. Tracy is retraining my brain and reminding me of the horsewoman I used to be. And hopefully, in the end, an ever better one.