One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

We've been concentrating on Alli and Beau is back-sliding.

Wednesday night she let me groom her all over; front, back, top, bottom. I combed out her mane and got the mud off of her forehead and face. I moved on to her ears, and she was good with it. When I walk across the aisle to get another grooming tool she starts pawing.

She let me trim her ears! She had old-man hair coming out of her ears, and it is red, so she looked unkempt and raggedy. The Wahl trimmer (no affiliation) has a dead battery (won't hold a charge) so I used scissors, BUT STILL! She let me trim those ears. I moved onto her muzzle whiskers and jaw line. She's very pretty. Also her feet, and I used the nippers to trim a jagged edge on her frog, no problem!

Last night Beau wouldn't let me touch his ears or his face, and I've been able to do that - he's highly excitable, and that's not where we left off. We MUST give them equal time or they won't move forward. Have to start from the beginning, every night, and add ONE new thing, every night, for both of them.

I'm also leading her out of her stall by her halter after every feeding, to the closed aisle door, which I then open, out into the dry paddock, to the closed gate. This is another huge step forward. Beau no longer lets me do this. Step forward, step back.