♥ 1. -First encounter: She was nervous. She backed into the corner of the corral and looked away from me. I read my paperwork and saw that she was the horse that I was to adopt. She was skinny and lean. She was shy. Her head was hanging low. She gradually raised her head and looked at me. Our eyes connected instantly and she started to slowly meander towards me. She gave me a sulky face. I knew that she was interested. I held out a fresh carrot in my hand and her ears pricked up immediately. She scooted over towards the edge of the fence and started to nibble on the carrot. I slowly slipped a rope around her neck and led her out of the corral. She wouldn’t budge at first but then when I started to stroke her face and gave her a sugar cube, she slowly followed behind me.
♥ 2. -Adjusting to the new home: I unloaded her from the trailer and put her in the smaller pasture. She at first was skeptical and nervous but I gave her a sugar cube and stroked her slowly. She ran around the pasture and then came back to me, as if she wanted to show me something. I put the rope back on her and then led her to her stall. #2 in my barn. Her next door neighbor was my first Tolter, Tropic. Tropic whinnied at her and her ears pricked instantly. She stood in the back of her stall and was looking out the window into the meadows. She seemed to like it.
♥ 3. -Introduction of the halter: Leta was nervous. She was in her stall and it was bath day. I had tried to get a halter on her three days ago but she reared and turned away. Time for Round Two. This time, I decided that I would show her what a halter is. I dropped her halter into her stall so she could see it and smell it. After a half an hour, I took it from her and put a rope around her neck. I led her to the washing area where Tropic was tied up. I tied her to a post and took Tropic's halter off. I then gave him a sugar cube. She instantly became curious. I then let him sniff his halter and I put it back on slowly. I gave him another sugar cube and petted him. I then grabbed Leta's halter and slowly walked over to her. I let her sniff her halter again and then I gave her a sugar cube. Then, I slowly put the halter on her and petted her. I talked to her and soothed her and finally I got it on her! I gave her another sugar cube and then started to wash her.
♥ 4. -Meeting a friend: Leta met Tropic, my other Tolter, very briefly the day she arrived so I decided it had been long enough and they needed to bond. Tropic was already in the pasture so I put on Leta's lead and brought her to the pasture. Tropic is like a puppy dog. He's very mellow and sweet and Leta hasn't revealed her true personality yet so this was going to be interesting.. I took her off her lead and let her go. She instantly trotted up to Tropic and Tropic whinnied and wanted to play and then they started to play. I was so relieved to see that they got along. I had brought my tranquilizer gun just in case one decided to start fighting. But I soon realized that they were instant bffs. They chased each other for hours and acted as if they had known each other their whole lives. I brought them back to their stalls and they were neighing at each other until they went to sleep. They became brother and sister.
♥ 5. -Gaining your horse's trust: Everyday I would take her out of her stall and walk her to the pen. I would play with her and pet her. I would put her on her lead and have her run circles around me for 10 minutes at a time and if she didn't stop, I would give her a sugar cube. Every meal, I would hand feed her. I would scratch her back and her favorite spot. I would spend most of my day with her. Leta had just gotten done rolling in dirt and mud and I was going to show her to two friends today so I decided that she needed a bath. I put on her lead and brought her to the bathing station. I tied her up and then grabbed my tools. I started with some lukewarm water and hosed her down then I showed her the shampoo. She sniffed it and bobbed her head up and down. Her ears were pricked with interest. I started to rub her down and talked to her calmly. I then showed her the towel. I rubbed the soft material against her face and she liked it. I then started to rub her down and continued to soothe and calm her. After I finished drying her off, I gave her a sugar cube. She seemed to like the bath so far. I finished up and fed her another sugar cube. I would sit in my chair in the pasture with her and I would pet her and braid her mane and tail.
♥ 6. -First time with saddle: I was scared. I had picked out her English style saddle and I was going to introduce it to her. I opened up her stall and dropped the saddle and saddle blanket in her stall so she could investigate it. I came back later. I grabbed the saddle and blanket and put Leta's lead on her. I walked her into a small, fenced area, about 15 feet long and 8 feet wide. I closed the gate. I slowly put the saddle blanket on her and her ears flipped back. She started to rear and buck. Oh no this was not going to end well. I calmed her down and petted her face. I decided to let her run in the pasture for 30 minutes and then I would try it again. I called her and she came trotting up to the pasture gate. I then put her lead back on her and led her to the fenced area once again. This time, I showed her the saddle blanket and as I put it onto her, I stroked her back and talked to her. I then let go of the blanket and her ears flicked back and forth but she did not seem scared. I continued to talk to her and I gave her an apple. Once she had finished her treat, I grabbed her saddle and showed it to her. She sniffed it and flicked one ear back. I talked to her and slowly put it on her. Once I put it on her, I petted her and scratched her tummy, She seemed to not mind the saddle. I gave her two sugar cubes and then led her out of the little area and into the corral so she could run around and get used to her saddle. She didn't buck and her ears stayed upright. So, I decided to start a little ground work training with her.
♥ 7. -Ground work: First, I led her around the corral in a jog. Then, I had her run circles around the corral. I thought that she had worked hard for today so I fed her an apple and carrot and took her tack off. While she was running, I could tell that the saddle didn't bother her much. I think the reason why she was so scared of the saddle blanket was because she didn't get to see it the first time I put it on her. The next day, I had next to no trouble getting her tack on her. She seemed calm and at ease. I led her to the corral and had a very weird lesson plan. It involved potatoes. I tied a bag of potatoes onto Leta's back to make her feel like someone was riding on her. The first few loops with her Potato Rider, she was a little hesitant and skeptical. But after a while, she got used to it and started a relaxed trot then canter. I practiced getting onto her back but did not take any loops. During all of the drills, I talked to her and soothed her. After every drill, I would reward her with a sugar cube and a scratch on her favorite spot on her tummy. After a few months of training, I felt that she was ready for her first ride.
♥ 8. -First ride: Today was the day that I had been prepping my girl for. After 4 months of constant training, I felt that she was ready. I put on her blanket and saddle and walked her into the corral. I didn't know if she was ready for a trail ride, so I played it safe. I was so nervous that I had three trainers there to watch in case anything went wrong. I also called my veterinarian friend so if she got hurt, she would have instant help. And I had my paramedic/firefighter dad there in case I get hurt because it takes a very long time to drive out here. I think I had played out everything that could go possibly wrong in my head for the last week. I stroked Leta's beautiful face and talked to her as I hoisted myself into the saddle. My hands were shaking and my brain was in system overload. I grabbed the reins and looked over at my crowd of helpers. They all looked just as nervous as I was. She hadn't bucked me off yet.. She started a slow trot around the corral and then building up into a canter. I gripped the reins so tight that you would have to pry my hands off of them. Her ears were up tall so that calmed me down a little. I think that she was less nervous than I was. We took a few loops until I felt confident that she was 100% trained. Phew. All of those heart-stopping scenarios didn't happen. I dismounted and ran over to hug my dad. I then gave Leta a lot of praise, apples, carrots, cinnamon, sugar cubes, and a long tummy scratch.
♥ 9. -Free spot:
Personality: She is a very calm and mellow girl. She is very easy-going, laid-back, and doesn't put up a fight very often. She's not a wallflower, but doesn't like to be the center of attention.
Home: Her home is located in the Sierra Nevadas in California. The stables aren't very big because I only have 4 and plan on keeping my herd small.
