Day One

Hello everyone!

Today was Tina’s first full day at my home after arriving at about 9:30 last night. She is happy and settled into her paddock and has made lots of friends over the fence, including several other Arabians, a blind Appaloosa, and the Appaloosa’s miniature guide pony. She seems very comfortable in her paddock.
Yesterday we went to pick Tina up from the rescue. It took some time to load her but when she did decide to get in she did so very calmly, one foot at a time, and didn’t race over anyone or try to back out again. Once in the trailer she was obviously nervous, visibly shaking, but after about a two hours on the rode when we stopped to check on her she was standing quietly eating from her hay bag. On the road we barely heard a peep from her, except when we went over a lot of bumps. Once we arrived she backed out of the trailer without hesitation.
I went out to play with Tina today after school. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other. She was perfect for being haltered and led around, although when she feels nervous about something she likes to trot in place beside me. She and I spent a lot of time going over the “whoa” command, and she picked it up super fast. She now plants her feet when you say it and is starting to understand the idea of not moving until asked to. She’s a smart girl. Tina is very happy to ground tie. She stood, half asleep, with her lead rope slung across her neck while I groomed her.
When we went for a walk outside of her paddock she was very alert and attentive to everything around her. It became obvious to me that Tina’s natural defense is to pull back. Shortly after this discovery Tina lost her leather halter privileges and now has a nice little rope halter until she learns to give to poll pressure.
Tina is very smart and loves people. I anticipate her being a lot of fun to work with.