Day 2 - Great accomplishments!

Today I was so impressed with Special. I have not been able to do enough with Bellisimo because of time today. I was up till 2am last night with Bella who coliced. Thank the lord for banamine and for giving me the nerve to give my horses shots. It really is a miracle drug. I make sure all the horses got their electrolytes and that all the water was clean and full. I had to get 4 new tires today, get the vehicles registered and have a meeting with EDS... So it was really busy.. I even looked at a 30 acre piece of land - but I am not sure its right for us.

So back to Special - I finally got out to the barn at 9pm and wouldn't you know we got a rain shower! But it did help cool things off a bit. I gave Special and oatmeal cookie which he was not to hot on! He just didn't know what it was. I have got to get him those peppermints that Summer mentioned.

So today instead of putting the chain over his nose - I just put it below. Marilyn Lang told me I could hurt the delicate skin on his nose so I will never do that again! And Chris told me he has seen horses get a scar because of that chain over the nose. I'm so grateful that people will tell me when I do something dumb. Its really helpful to get people to review what I did and look for mistakes or ways to improve....

I took Special to the round pen and again he trotted around like a champ. He was not paying attention to trotting enough for a little while - he just wanted to sniff the dirt in the round pen. He was trotting around and sniffing the dirt at the same time so he looked like he was doing a dressage neck stretch! Well then he tripped and it woke him up a little. It seemed like that made him realize he had better pay attention or he was going to trip. I only exercised him for about 15 or 20 minutes and he worked up a pretty good sweat. I can't imagine working a horse during the daytime. And I don't think the humidity was helping.

Tonight's exciting accomplishment was - a bath for Special. I was a bit nervous once again - just because he is new and I don't know what to expect of him. I never trust any new horse even if someone tells me the horse is bomb proof. I once had someone tell me a stallion was really sweet - and he then charged at me when I tried to lunge him. So now I don't listend to anyone - I treat all horses as if they don't know anything - and so I then figure out what they really know. As it turns out - Summer clearly did a good job with Special in his bath skills. He loved getting sprayed with the water sprayer - just loved it. In particular - he loved getting his forehead sprayed - which I hardly have a single horse who will tolerate that much less enjoy it. He is a very appreciative horse who loves attention and having you do anything for him. Even the smallest little thing seems to make him happy.

I had to get him to move away from me, and I pushed him with my hand on his side - and he woudn't move away. In fact he leaned in to my hand. I finally had to turn his head toward me and then continue to apply pressure where your stirrup would be and as soon as he moved away I told him how smart he was and then praised him profusely. That seems to work well with him - he will do anything to make me happy it seems. Making me happy - seems to make him proud. He reminds me alot of my husband Reilly.

So after his bath we used the scraper on him and I kissed him and hugged him and told him I loved him alot. He seems to trust me and sort of depend on me a little when he is unsure of something. He kind of looks at me to see if its okay do do whatever it is he is supposed to do. And if I give him a look of confidence and support him mentally - then he will follow through. Its seems we can communicate without words. There are some words which clearly Summer must have taught him. He knows his name very well and likes to hear it alot. He also understands "trot" and "Whoa". I was very impressed with that.

Tomorrow I am going to bring Special his mints, give him a bath and braid up his mane. He has hair like my girlfriend from Iran - thick, black, shiny and long. And it looks like he is pretty hot with all that mane. I am also thinking of clipping his bridle path tomorrow.

Special has the most beautiful feet. They are very large and white and so well balanced. They look very big - kind of like the way a puppy has huge looking feet when they are small. I think that once we get some more weight on Special - he will "grow into" his feet. I purchased some Amplify which is supposed to help with weight gain. Mary Ellen Chavez mentioned that she gives Donatello this and it helps a lot.

I think we will also go walking tomorrow. I'll be sure to get my heel cushions for my bond spurs! But it would be nice to take him to see some new things on the property.

I don't know what I'd do without the help of Russ and Chris. Russ was great at getting Special off the trailer and Chris has helped me every night with Special. I feel a little guilty that he is doing so much - but am also very grateful.

I have a secret dream - which isn't that secret. If I could do anything for a living - I'd open a training facility. I'd love to do what I'm doing with Special for other people's horses and get them in top show condition. I'd also like to work with their mental state to make them perform well both in hand and under saddle. And I could offer photography, and marketing services as well. This would really be a dream come true. Somehow working with Special reminds me of some of the dreams I've put aside for my "real job" that pays the bills - but that I really don't like.

I can't wait to see what the future holds...