Success!!

One of my biggest problems with Dakota has been to get her to eat her vitamins!! Having been on green grass pasture for the past year and much of her young life, she had never seen an apple or a carrot, nor had she been fed grain. Her vitamins are pellets, which she looked at with utter disinterest. I did buy some molasses and oat cookies that she nibbled a couple of times (including during her lessons today, as pictured on the left--that's her munching a cookie), so I thought I'd keep trying things with molasses in it. I made a concoction of molasses and her vitamins and some of those cookies all ground up and mixed together. And today, SUCCESS! She didn't eat it all and she played with it a lot, but she DID eat some (pic on right)! You don't know! I was worried about this, since she needs her vitamins. She is a growing girl, after all!!

She's also doing really well with her lessons. Today I sent her away, which is the precursor and foundation of all future round pen and longeline work. She follows me everywhere, so it was hard to send her away and it confused her a bit. But before long I could see the gears moving and something clicked and she moved forward for a time without my urging. I then invited her back in and she came right up. This horse learns quickly and easily. My only problem with her will be keeping her interested and from getting bored. I understand, since I also bore easily!

Dakota at dusk in her pen. You can see the smokey haze left over from our two fires.














In her run-in. I often visit her in the late afternoons or evenings and we stand together in her run-in, very relaxed, just hanging out. It's been good bonding. She steps in closer and closer as we stand, eventually resting her nose on my arm. She loves being close and I think gets lonely without her herd. She has made friends with the large black horse next to her named Shadow. How appropriate...