HUGE Baby Steps!

Alli is developmentally a week or more behind Beau. After her ordeal of me getting her loaded into the trailer, she's been wary of me. I have not been able to touch her, for months. Don't blame her. Although I feed her and make sure she has hay and water and a dry, clean place to stay, she is always suspicious of me and gives me a wide berth.

Since November I've looked out for her, feeding her the best grain, decent hay, fresh water, clean shavings. She's done her best to stay away from me, always showing me her hind parts.

Last night I was able to actually brush Alli, but only on the right side, or at least by only standing on the right side. All legs, but have to stand at the right, combed out her tail, combed and trimmed her mane, while she lowered her head. Left side is a NO GO and we'll need the round pen to soften her.

I got lots of dried mud and bits of hay and debris off of her. When cleaned up it's obvious she is not really black, she's a very dark chocolate brown, maybe even a bay.

I think she's a girly-girl under all her fear and she'll love the attention and be 'pretty in pink' when I get her used to being touched, groomed and eventually bathed.

I had a dream I was riding her; it was a dream, not a nightmare. She's also very fast! She is eventually going to turn into a great, willing girl, a smooth ride and hopefully she'll enjoy the adventure with us. She needs to wrap her head around what's going on with her life.

We can work toward making her the very best girl she can be - for our purposes - she's four and this is a great time to bring her along.

We've been consistent with how we treat her. She's fed every day like clockwork. I think Skip has helped with bringing them into their entitlement status.

In November and December I was feeding them in fence feeders in field #1 and got them used to being fed. Baby steps. Alli didn't like 'Rounders', but now she does. Took some time, and a certain level of trust, but persuaded them into coming into the barn stalls to eat. Now they come in in an orderly fashion. Not so much running wild.

We don't have suitable tack for either of these horses - one size does not fit all - and she's young and will probably get a little bigger with age and muscle development. I would like to get a cute Aussie-style

saddle and pair that with a pink woolly saddle pad. I don't mind her dressing like that, she's very feminine-looking and could pull it off quite well.

I've never used a hackamore or bosal, but want to look into that alternative headstall choice.

She'll also need a visit from the dentist to make sure she's got good teeth, aligned in the proper way. Geldings/stallions can have a different tooth amount and pattern, but want to make sure her mouth is OK before moving forward.

She has a small case of rain rot, and getting her groomed, fed with quality grain, decent hay and getting her to worm herself, she's on the way to becoming healthy and fit.

Once we get the round pen set up with a load or two of sand inside, we'll begin her education in earnest. I know I'll lose weight; I did when I was bringing KC along - walking him all over the trails, getting him confident about trail hazards and visual stimuli. At the boarding barn the wretched women would ask me "when are you going to ride that horse?" At this point in time, I know I've put more miles on him than all of them combined - a daily hour in the ring does not compare to riding for hours over hill and dale, ravines, and crossing state lines.

She's agile and sure-footed, quick and pretty. Her potential is limitless and I am really looking forward to bringing her along her learning journey. Once I'm able to get a halter on her ...