First Update

After being here a week, I feel Lou lou (Lou) is starting to settle in rather well. She is being very picky about the hay that she eats but she is cleaning up most of it. That was the biggest sign that I was looking for, as she wasn't eating much at all when she first arrived. She spent most of her time pacing around her pen and stall. Today I got her out and took her to the round pen for the first time since I have had her. Since she had been saddled and ridden before she arrived, I approached these tasks rather confidently. However Johnny told me that she was a little prone to buck and that she became nervous while being saddled. After moving her around some I started to put the saddle on. She was nervous and started walking around some. I didn't try to make her stand still but just kept working throwing the saddle up and holding it on when she would stop I would pull the saddle down. After repeating this step several times, she finally stood still to be saddled. I hope this becomes the trend but I will keep working at this until she stands relaxed. It seemed to me that as she started relaxing she was really wanting to be with me. I love the fact that she was looking to me for comfort. After moving her some with the saddle, I started the getting on process. She stood still for most of this, however she seemed very tense so I spent a lot of time crawling around in the saddle and getting down, then moving her feet, before repeating. Soon enough she stood relaxed. Once in the saddle and comfortable she walked out very relaxed and trotted well too. However as I was encouraging her to lope, she froze up and started to buck some. She was very easy to convince not to, however, after that it was difficult for me to get her to free up and move. Fortunately I was able to get Dad to help me. He came to the middle of the round pen and moved toward her, instantly she relaxed and freed up. Soon after that we were loping nice relaxed circles that I was asking her to do and Dad just stood there. She is showing me potential to be supper light in the reins and the saddle, my goal is to keep her that way. All in all it was a great first day with a lot of successes for both the horse and my self! I am looking forward to getting to know this filly more and continue to gain her confidence in me. I hope to report more good news next week. Thanks and God Bless.