Backed!

So Mercy was there to help me back Scarlett for the first time today.

I wrote about it to my sister: 

Ren, 

So I bought the Irish redhead backyard train wreck hot mess I wrote you about.  I got her in the trailer easy enough by showing her the hay inside but it took about 20 minutes to get her out at Arrowhead Ranch.  So I've been feeding her up, wormed her, trimmed off her beard and trimmed and de-matted the mane and treated the chewed-off tail with MTG to make it grow.  I've been working on her with a shedding blade because her coat is like very bad carpeting--all dull and fried-looking.  Her feet are a mess.  For the first 24 hours she wouldn't go in her stall--I'm not sure she's had that much shelter in her life. But today was day 4 and she now doesn't want to come out of her stall.  It's like she's decided she likes the diva life.   She is basically a big baby--curious and awkward.   I'm treating her as not-really-broke. She pulls back when tied.   We worked on lunging for 3 days and then today it was so warm and she was so head-down and relaxed doing w/t lunging that I actually got on (in the round pen) (with Mercy there with cell phone in hand just in case).  Then I had Mercy take the lunge line for a lap, then took off the lunge line.  She never threw a fit or bucked or anything.  She doesn't have steering installed, and probably also no brakes, but she was just walking around with her head down being all curious as to what Mercy was up to, so we didn't push it.  I stayed on for about 7 minutes of lazy wandering and then called it a day!  And I am sure the sailing will not be this easy once she has some energy and some fitness and I try to ride her on a cold morning and go outside the round pen!  

Now I have to go and read up on how to install power steering and brakes on a baby. I wish I knew what your favorite trainer (the man who trained the zebra) does….

Feel free to send advice!

 Hugs, Trace