Unfortunately, not much activity over the weekend as we had an out-of-town wedding to attend Saturday and a high school graduation on Sunday. Then, according to Memorial Day tradition in Montana, we woke up to rain on Monday morning. Sun is out, now, and we're expecting temperatures in the 80s by the weekend - so yay! Just about 60 days to go, now.
Our 2nd Progress Report to the Mustang Heritage Foundation was due today. We are required to submit 3 progress reports over the course of training indicating amount of feed our horse is consuming, his current body condition/scoring, a brief training update and a few current photos.
Rooster seems to have lost a few pounds since his arrival, which I'm OK with. He was a little pudgy. I was surprised to receive such a well-fed animal just months off of the range and had anticipated an underweight, scraggly thing I'd need to get weight on. In fact, Rooster was just the opposite.
As you may have noticed, I haven't spent much time under saddle with him lately. I felt after the last couple rides, I needed to step back and continue his ground work and confidence level in me as he just didn't feel quite ready. After our field trip last week, he really impressed me and I think it's time we get back in the saddle again. He's come a long way and it's amazing to think how wild he was just over a month ago.
Yesterday was the first time Rooster has actually whinnied at me. Usually my other horses knicker when I come outside and Rooster is quick to follow up with a call. This time, Rooster looked right at me as I walked outside and let out a big whinny. I went out to see him and his feeder still had plenty of hay... so it wasn't food-motivated. I have to think he's finally starting to enjoy my company and look forward to our visits and training sessions. It's a another huge milestone for us.
Rooster made it onto the trailer, today. In the first few sessions, I had Rooster eating hay from the back of the trailer while I walked around inside making noises and clanging dividers together so he could get used to all the sounds and movement. The last thing I wanted to do was make this another traumatic experience (like pick-up day in April)! He was pretty unsure about getting his two front feet up there, but once he did, he walked the rest of the way on without coaxing to reach the hay.
Well, I found the courage to get on top of this little guy and he did great. First "ride" was basically me sitting on Rooster and asking for a couple steps at a time. He's still figuring out what he's supposed to do when I'm up above him! Still very soft to the lead rope and I'm hoping we can keep it that way. No bolting or spooks at all - mostly him just taking a few steps and looking at me like, "Oooookay, is that what you wanted?"
