Day Five & Six - Finally Relaxed

Day Five decided to bless us with over a half inch of rain, so we skipped round pen work in the interest of safety and opted for some quality one-on-one time.  I'm almost to the point in training where I can't progress much further until I really gain his trust, so I spent some time with him just scratching him all over, working on his face (which he's still extremely shy about) and walking up to him over and over again.  He tenses up every time I approach - so lots of approach and retreat will do Rooster some good.  I didn't feel like we had any break-through moments, but practice makes perfect.

Brrrr!!

Day Six started out with 8"-10" of snow on the ground and no power!  The rain never let up overnight and instead turned to snow.  Looks like our round pen work will be put on hold for a least another couple days.  It gets way too goopy and slick around here when it's wet.

I spent more time with Rooster this morning, again rubbing and scratching all over.  I'm thrilled to report that for the first time since he's been here, he finally relaxed for me.  I got to scratching his recent Freezebrand, and OH MY it must have been itchy!  He dropped his head and had his eyes about half shut.  THIS was the break-through moment I've been waiting for!  Rooster is finally understanding that I'm not trying to eat him and it's OK to chill out.  For the first time, he let me rub all over his head, nose and underneath his jaw.  I finally felt comfortable enough with our progress to take his lead rope off, which the poor guy has been dragging around since his arrival.

So we've got control of his feet and his mind is coming right along.  I am so excited to see where we go from here.  The moisture is a Godsend for our precious crops, but it's sure putting a damper on my horse activities!  :)