In typical Faith fashion, she loaded in the trailer on the first try. Gabrielle walked and Faith followed. :-) Maybe we should just stop now and let everything be a first at the competition? Nah. That wouldn't be any fun.
Since going in was so easy, Gabrielle asked Faith to back out. The first step down is usually a concerning one for horses backing out. Faith took the first step down slowly but did not react. Her foot touched down and Faith kept backing. Her second hind foot came out and she stayed calm and walked the front two feet out. We all were happily surprised.
(Just for comparison purposes, I took my yearling out to work on trailer loading and backing out. He loaded just great. :-) Then I asked him to back out. He stood like a mule. He did not want to move. I kept asking and he ever so slowly took a step back. After a few more successful steps backward, he was at the edge of the trailer. The next step backward should be his step down. He reached back for the floor of the trailer and when it was not where he expected; he quickly picked his foot back up and stepped forward. We tried again and this time his foot touched the ground outside the trailer but he still very quickly picked it up and came forward into the trailer. So this is not as easy as Faith makes it out to be. We worked on this a few more minutes and found a good stopping point and I allowed him to turn around and walk out forward.)
All for good measure, Gabrielle had Faith walk in and back out one more time. This time I was able to get a picture of them together inside the trailer.
Being on a farm gives us many different things we can use with Faith. Here Gabrielle's sister helps her out by bringing in one of her chickens to show Faith. She also has been exposed to chainsaws, drills, air compressors, tarps, balls, flying saucers, and farm machinery such as balers, tractors and helicopter sprayers.
Gabrielle really enjoys being able to ask Faith to bow and lay down. Now she can do it without the help of a saddle or rope.
After their workout, both enjoy some snuggle time.
The day got quite hot and Faith was sweating a lot and so she got her first bath from the hose and not just a sponge bath. She looked so nice when the bath was over. Of course being a horse, she had to go and roll and get dirty again but we were all cooled off which felt nice too.
Faith will be auctioned to a new home following the Teen Mustang Challenge on August 27th at Yamhill Fairgrounds in McMinnville, Oregon. If you are interested in her we would be happy to have you come meet her and talk with you about owning a mustang. We would also encourage anyone and everyone that is interested in mustangs to come watch the competition. These horses are fabulous and make wonderful life partners. Lastly if you know of anyone that might be interested in a mustang, please let them know about this blog and this opportunity. Thank you for all your support. :-)
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