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Deciding On Disciplines
I had ridden Blair a couple times, and I was plowing ahead with training. I wanted to decide on his primary discipline now. Obviously, he could do plenty of other things, and I did hope he'd be versatile, but to continue training I was hoping to center around some in particular. After watching the gelding move and riding, as well as considering what I wanted, I came to the conclusion that Blair would be a pleasure horse. As in western pleasure.
His bridle was already fitting, as it had a classic leather look with the slightest bit of fashion - nothing flashy, which was good. At this decision, I started working with Blair on slowing down his gaits and lowering his head. We practiced various movements and exercises that would help us with our quest.
Western pleasure seemed to be an excellent fit. Blair was typically a calmer horse who had nice, easy movements. Judges would like him. He had the undeniable look about him of a pleasure or trail horse, with muscles and fat in most all the right places. The gelding had a nice conformation and it showed - he carried himself, with the exception being his head, as a pleasure horse would.
I had made the right choice.

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Practice, Practice, Practice
The majority of this week has been spent riding and practicing. For now I haven't thrown too much new things at Blair. I don't want to screw anything up. So we've simply been practicing, practicing, and practicing. That's all there is to it. Enough said.
I've worked the gelding up enough so we can lope with me in the saddle. He's done adequately - he's had some trouble learning his leads, and we're working out some general bumps. Overall, I'm proud of Blair. Every horse will have their problems - and there should be many more than one - and he has taken them in stride and, for the most part, learned from his mistakes. It's nice to have a horse with an attitude like that. It makes for a competitor that runs with the best of them.

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Having Some Fun
I let Blair off the hook mostly today and we had what we both needed - a fun day. I had Anna and Mitchell join in with some of their horses in some small-scale games. We had a groom and clean contest, with a stable hand as the judge, where mud was put on our horses and then we had to clean them off best we could - no water allowed. I was frantic, although I felt worst for Anna - her horse was particularly light-coated and the dirt was sure to show. Mitchell had it easiest with a lovely bay horse.
Blair seemed to want to help during the groom and clean. After the mud was put on him, he acted excellently. He allowed it to dry without trouble. When the grooming part came, he was calm, except for occasionally messing with me purposefully. I laughed him off. I used the curry comb, and at some parts was overly rough in my rush. But Blair was good, which I rewarded him for. After going through my grooming tools and the time being up, the three of us presented our horses. I was nervous for such an insignificant thing - but I was always somewhat overcompetitive.
In the end, Mitchell won overall, I took second, and Anna got third. After that activity we raced to see who saddled their horses quickest and with most accuracy - I took the cake that time. With all my experience, it wasn't much of a competition, not to be rude. This was something that was in my area of expertise. Lucky for me, Blair was quiet through this.
We both got wild in our final competition - scavenger hunt. We were looking for all horse-related items. This was the most fun of them all, though. Blair & I teamed up to find a carrot, an old halter, a bottle of fly spray, and a pitchfork. We followed our clues, me dragging the gelding along desperately. The pitchfork was stuck between a wood barrier and some metal walling. The halter was actually on a different horse - I almost missed that one. Blair helped find the last two. The fly spray is something Blair does not like the smell of, so when he flapped his lips as scrunched up his nose, I knew he smelled something we disliked and I could guess it was fly spray. I find the item hidden between some low rafters. The carrot was one Blair sniffed out. He had his head on the ground, near a cabinet that held medical supplies, and I realized what he had found - beneath the sturdy cabinet was the carrot.
I raced back to the starting area, only to find that I was already beat by Anna and Mitchell both. I sighed and pet Blair, smiling despite my losing. We all had a good time, and Blair and I bonded even further.

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Trailering & Trail Riding
It was a nice day, and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to take Blair out on a trail ride with Anna and Mitchell. He needed the trailer practice and trail riding could be beneficial. To my surprise and happiness, I found Blair loaded easier with other horses already on. Since I was going out with my family, we loaded their horses first. The gelding was lead up to the trailer, and paused. He sniffed the sawdust and saw the other horses. Casually, he pawed at the ramp. I gently tugged on him. A couple times he backed away suddenly, but the trailer loading went pretty smoothly overall. That put me in a good mood overall.
When we got to a trail we all loved, Blair unloaded with ease and I saddled him up. As he looked out onto the desert trail with the mountains as a backdrop, I saw a glimmer in his eyes. This had been his home. And when we stepped onto that trail, ready for an adventure, I knew he was a different horse. Still, part of his heart belonged here in this wild place where birds of prey cried above and cactus plants stuck out of the ground, large and full. I knew it was likely he was better off with me, but as I watched him grow excited, happy, and then sorrowfulC I felt bad at times. This had been stolen from him. It was then I made a vow to bring him, and likely Wildfire, out here as often as possible. They could both use it.
A couple times Blair wanted to wander. He has moved to the edge of the trail and strained at the bit sometimes. I kept him in his place, although he likely would have loved nothing more than to race between the scarce brush and blow up dust. Maybe one day. And as the sun slowly sank in the sky while we made our way back towards the trailer, we were treated to a spectacular desert sunset. We all smiled.
By the time we were unsaddled and ready to load, the horses were ready to go for the most part. After Mitchell and Anna and their horses loaded up, I stood with Blair at the entrance. When I pulled on him, he stood strong. His eyes reflected the dying sunset and he lingered, watching the land. "We'll come back, Blair. I promise." I said quietly. And it was as though he understood, for the gelding, finally content, walked onto the trailer without trouble. I would keep my promise, always.

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Weekly Update - Week Five
This week had a lot packed into it. Blair and I are doing very well with riding and other parts of training. We've formed a deep connection and he is progressing rapidly. I've learned so much this year. We're already halfway through. There's so much to do, I feel, yet stil everything flies by. Next week I'll split my time between ground work and riding - I've been teaching the gelding some tricks. I've already started sketching routines for competitions and presentations. Oh, what a time it has been so far.

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Weekly Update - Week Six
There's not much to say for this week. Nothing spectacular occurred, so it doesn't constitute so many nournal entries. I'll sum it up, easily enough. I spent three days putting all my time into riding. Another three were ground work days. The remaining day was one I gave Blair to relax for his hard work - it's good to let a horse do that. That was pretty much all there was to it, I guess.
Oh, Blair did get some cuts out in the field. I think there was a scuffle that occurred, I don't know who started it. I've treated them, and it's likely he'll have some small scars, but it's not that big of a deal. I've kept their pasture set up, as I figure this was somewhat of a fluke - they've never had a problem before. This week had some odd weather, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were all in a bit of a bad mood and on edge.

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Going Bareback
After some careful consideration, I decided to work on bareback riding with Blair. WeMre going on week seven now, which is scary on its own. But I can do it. I started by putting some weight on the gelding's back without a saddle - I did use a bareback pad, to somewhat replicate the feeling at least. I know it'll be hard for him, but I have faith in the horse, truly.
After about of day of preparation, I removed the nerves from my season and went for it. With my family nearby, I mounted Blair with only a bareback pad. I felt so close to him at that moment. He did well beyond words, truly. I was surprised. It was probably the best he's done in all our training.
I was easy on him. He responded beautifully - so well I removed the bareback pad completely. Then we were together, one. I felt his spine beneath me and his muscles and bones moving. It was odd, doing this with Blair. It was such a simple task but with the gelding it seemed incredible and new. I felt accomplished. He remained calm and relaxed, he seemed to enjoy riding without the weight of blankets and a saddle on him. Understandable.
I even went as far as to trot while bareback - Blair got a bit excitable, but kept collected still.
By the time I got off of Blair, time had flied by. We had spent nearly two hours together. I smiled, disregarding the clock. I spent another hour with the arena gates closed. I allowed Blair to follow me about, and then run freely. I hadn't expected today to go so well. And when the unexpectedly good occurs, you have to enjoy it. So I sat back and admired the beautiful beast that ran before me.

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Dabbling in Different Things
Although I decided on keeping Blair mostly western pleasure, I wanted to explore other possibilities. So, today I changed things up - I saddled up the gelding with English tack. He seemed surprised, but still indifferent to the changes. I comforted him as I tightened his girth and put him in an odd bridle. I figured it was much lighter and would possibly be uncomfortable at first - that was alright.
I had set up the smallest jump in the arena, along with ground poles. I mounted Blair and walked him about to let him adjust to the tack he was in. It wasn't long before he was pressing to start work. I obliged. I trotted and cantered around, avoiding the new objects in the arena although keeping close enough to let him survey them. When we were properly warmed up and the gelding seemed to accept the style of riding, I moved onto the activities that involved the jump and the poles.
I started with ground poles. At first he seemed confused. His hooves hit the poles constantly, one after the other. Obviously this was unfamiliar ground to him. After some repitition and careful training, he got more of the hang of it. The one time I didn't hear any hits against the poles, I stopped and congratulated him. It took many tries, but he still did his best.
The jump caused more issues. I trotted him up to it, then stopped and walked. He sniffed the sides and the jump itself. He was intrigued but cautious. Blair walked around a bit until I halted him and decided to make our first attempt. I trotted around the arena until we came to the jump - I urged him on and towards the jump. At the last moment, Blair seemed to grow nervous and stopped abruptly, sending me forward. I caught myself and sat back. "Oh Blair," I laughed. I trotted around a second time - the same response. The third time, he didn't bother even getting that close.
The fourth attempt, something changed. My urging finally cued him to what he needed to do. Blair took a flying leap, much higher than I expected. Obviously he had overdone it, but I was proud of him. He stumbled when he landed, but he would grow more sure-footed in time. I stopped for the day, as he had passed my expectations to my delight. I had wondered if even a small jump would be too much today, but he ended up working well - we could always consider a future in English disciplines.

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The Haircut
Today I gave Blair a haircut. To be a proper pleasure horse, he needed one. In all my experience, I knew exactly what to do. I tied the gelding in the crossties, I carefully set out my scissors and showed them to him. He was curious but not afraid.
Using a ruler and my amateur hairdresser skills, I started cutting. Soon, the gelding's hair was short and even - perfect. I leveled out his tail as well. It was a bit sad to see all that hair on the ground, such beautiful hair, but he needed it. I swept up all the hair and Blair looked at me in an angry manner. I chuckled at the pouting look he gave me.
"Oh, don't act so sad. It can grow back silly. You needed to tame that mane." He snorted and I fed him a cookie to cheer him up. I put him into the round pen while I worked with some other horses, and still laughed about the looks he would shoot me.

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Day in Nature
I took a day. I took Blair out far into a forested area and spent the day with him alone. Excellent quality time. I think we needed it. Alone, out on those trails, it was amazing. We rode for miles, and then stopped beneath a huge tree for lunge - Blair had an apple. I picked out his feet at that time and allowed him to rest. Then we continued.
It was slow going, but the day was beautiful. The slightest wind blowed through the air and the sun shined, occasionally puffy white clouds covering it every now and then. Blair raised his head towards the sun, his now-short mane blowing somewhat in the wind.
It was early afternoon when we reached our destination. We stopped and I dismounted, standing beside Blair to enjoy the moment. We were atop a small bluff, looking out of the land. It seemed to reach for forever, blending into suburbs and the desert and ten the mountains. Breathtaking. The gelding was silent, staring. I smiled and found myself just standing, slowly petting the gelding's shoulder.
Blair and I soon were on our way back. By the time we got back, it was later than expected and I called Mitchell immediately to tell him we were on our way back.
He entered the trailer nicely - I think he was very tired - and was quiet on the way home. When we returned, I gave him a little extra with his grain and massaged his legs with a paste to keep him from growing too sore. That evening, I looked over all the pictures I had snapped - looking through them, I knew I would remember the day for a long while.
Some pictures were of Blair, with the sun shining on his handsome face perfectly. Others were of wildlife and the plants - the views. I loved it all.