The Big Day – First Lesson with Mom & Joining the Herd (Saturday, 14 July)

Mom had been away for three days on a business trip so when she came to get me for our first lesson together on Saturday, we started it out with a big hug. I noticed she didn’t look too well, though. She said she had gotten so use to the country air that her body rejected being in New York City. Poor thing. I said I would take it easy with her in our lesson and I know she appreciated it. We mostly spent time getting to know each other… figuring out my turning and stopping buttons. I’m confused with the whole leg aids thing. I feel a nudge from Mom’s leg and I think that means speed up. Oh well, not my fault since no one taught me. Miss Jean says we will work on that a little later. Meanwhile, Mom is working on some of her own things too. She has a tendency to struggle to find the appropriate contact with my mouth and overall she is just so tense! After a couple of not so great transitions to the trot, we started to get a little more in synch. We just touched on some big patterns and we’ll continue to work on keeping an even pace. Miss Jean talked about our progress during the week on becoming softer on the bit and listening better. I can’t wait to show Mom my big trot, hehehe. It already made Miss Jean giggle.

After our lesson, I gave Mom a ride back to the barn since she wasn’t feeling well. Then she gave me a bath and led me out to Miss Jean’s 40-acre field. Mom gave me some treats, but I was so excited thinking about joining the heard that I didn’t even eat them all! Mom took me in the gait, gave me a pat, and said, “enjoy.” I trotted—more like pranced with a whinny—over to the herd! I yelled, “hey guys, look at me!” They all looked up, but didn’t say much except for Kiddo, who seemed the least thrilled of everyone that I had trotted over. I found my way to the top of a dirt hill. I felt like the king of the world. Slowly, the herd came over to talk. I saw Mom watching me with Miss Jean and Kat. I came over to tell them thanks for turning me out. Then I went to talk to a potential herd mate, Leo, who was lounging over in the neighboring paddock. Leo started talking trash to me so I let him know that I didn’t like that…bah, not sure I like that paint. The rest of the afternoon was pure joy. So this is what it feels like to live like a real horse!