OK, OK, I'm a bad bad blogger. So I'll get you all up to date.

The last few days have been pleasant. Rose has been round penned daily and has learned whoa, walk on, trot and reverse (by turning her head to me). She has learned to stay out on the circle, and to continue at whatever gait I set her at until I ask her to change. She has a little bit of attitude. I like it! Mainly she expresses it by snorting and with a little head tossing. I would say she has a little spark.

In her stall she is standing tied nicely and is really enjoying this whole "grooming" concept. It's obvious that she has had very little grooming in the past and none of it past the girth area. Her tail has never been brushed and her ergots are like nothing I have ever seen before.

She's decent about her front feet. She has a tendency to snap them up and doesn't want to hold them up very long but she's very nice about it. I haven't actually gotten ahold of her hinds yet. Mainly they are stuck to the ground. She's not at all kicky about them and lets me slip a lead rope around her fetlocks with no problem. I can scratch and groom her hind legs as much as I like. I've gotten her to pick them up a few times. It will just take a little more time and that's just fine. I'm pleased with how it's going.

She is great, if a little unsure, about her hind end and lets me brush all the way down the inside and outside of both hinds. When I finally got my hand into that mess of a fetlock I found that the ergots were the size of my fist and had split into fingers that curled all the way back around to her leg. I've never seen those get so huge! It makes me so mad that her owner has been paying for her to have training for the last four to five months and she has obviously never had her tail or hind end even brushed, nor has she been taught to longe. Anyway she's a sweetheart and a pleasure to work with.

Sweetpea has had some good news! She's found an adopter! Mrs. Cowboy, on her appears to be the perfect new mommy for her. She came out to meet her Friday and brought excellent references. She has experience with drafts, with babies, and with rescues. She has the perfect facility to keep her and seems like a truly nice person. I have every hope that they will be a perfect fit. Sweetpea will stay where she is for the next two weeks and Mrs. Cowboy will be taking her her home on her next trip to the area she is making for one of the rescues. In the meantime, Sweetpea will continue getting attention every day. She's leading like a champ and each day she is tied for about ten minutes while I groom her. I have to keep reminding myself that she is only 10 months old and has a short attention span. She's bigger than most two year olds I've worked with and a very mellow little girl.

So that is where we stand. This week I will begin introducing different equipment to Rose. The surcingle, the bit, etc... And I will try to be a better blogger :)