Bailey's Big Trip

With the weather being so beautiful as of late, I decided (yesterday) to take Scout and Bailey with me over to my parents' for a couple of days.  Bailey has only ever been in a trailer 4 times prior to this, so I figured it would be a great time to further her "education".  Before departing, she refused to be led into the trailer with the halter, so as I had in the past, I backed the trailer up to her corral and shooed her in with no problem.  She and Scout spent the night in the large corral at Mom and Dad's and were pretty comfy with lots of hay.  This morning, however, I decided that Bailey had spent ample time greeting the other 3 horses over the fence and it was time to turn her out with Scout onto my parents' 25 acres.  I was a little worried about Ranger running her around, as he usually does with all "new" horses to assert his dominance, but he actually just followed her at a distance.  I was impressed.  Bailey seemed to enjoy the extra company and she fit right in with all of her big brothers.  It was too cute...all of them hanging out together.  Although, wherever Scout went, she wasn't far behind.  

The best thing of all happened as I was preparing Scout and Bailey for the trip back to Del Rio today.  I had already loaded Scout in the trailer and it was Bailey's turn.  I decided to try with the halter (not shooing) again.  I stood next to the trailer and pointed her in, then gave a little encouragement with the end of lead rope behind her and this time, she exceeded all my expectations by hopping right in like a big girl!  I couldn't believe it!!  Another proud moment to relish.

Bailey just seemed so photogenic today...I had to take a few cute shots of just her.  They turned out pretty well, but again, I AM partial!

Patience My Darling...

Yesterday, Miss Bailey learned her first big lesson in patience...how to stand tied.  Tying is a wonderful tool if used correctly.  Tying can teach horses an immense amount of patience (and with that, to manage their emotions) and they can also begin to look at you like their savior of sorts because they realize you are the being that can "set them free".  Usually if a young horse is taught to lead well, tying should be no big deal and since Bailey has been leading and doing everything without me having to pull on her at all, I thought it was time.  So, I haltered her and played with her briefly to get her in the right frame of mind (before I just tied her to a cemented piece of pipe) and I did a quick check on how well she followed the feel of the halter when I moved a little more quickly.  She passed that test with flying colors!!  I didn't tie her hard and fast, but I looped her lead rope over the pipe a couple of times and made sure it was looped on either side of an upright pole, so she couldn't slide down to the right or left.  Looping the rope will ensure that if she does panic, the rope will come unwound from the pole to give her some slack instead of causing her to feel trapped and fight against being solidly tied.  She did so wonderfully, I almost couldn't believe it...but that's how she has done everything up to now, so I don't know why I was surprised in the least.  She stood like a perfect angel.  She did get a teeny bit ancy for a moment, gently tugged at the rope, but only as if to try to figure out if she was really attached and couldn't go anywhere.  Then she just stood.  I was so proud of her!  I am so proud of her...

That's Hot!

Bailey was introduced to another new thing today...the hot wire fence.  I led her around the perimeter, following behind Scout, and she paid it no attention at first.  Then as soon as I took her halter off, she walked up to it, stuck her nose over it and tried to graze on the other side...after all the grass is greener.  Then, zap!...the wire stung her just under her chin.  She acted surprised, but did not panic.  She quickly stepped away and proceeded to graze on HER side of the fence.  I have to admit it was a bit funny, but I am glad she learned this lesson quickly and without too much commotion.  Now, she and Scout have the run of the whole place and plenty of grass to munch on.

A Miracle!

FINALLY!!!  I thought I might never get this video uploaded.  Here is Bailey in all her glory...strutting around her new "pasture".  Oh, and please ignore the audio...David was yelling at me to stop making Bailey run around...but she was doing it all on her own.  So, you may hear me yelling back at him.  It was too funny!  More to come soon!