First Few Days at Cherry Croft

And we were off! After 2 hours of trying to load into a step-up trailer. My 10-15 minute loader... Hmph. In the end a friend let us borrow her trailer so we could get to Cherry Croft before dark... We were supposed to be there at noon but made it just as Ben (the trainer) was starting a lesson. Brantley got to chill in the round pen (of my dreams) while Greg tacked up Kid and Deb and I went to get a late lunch for everyone. We came back and I hoped on Kid for a while, talked to a few of the boarders (loved them), and put Mr. B in his stall for the night.

Monday afternoon Deb and I made our way down to the farm to check on the boys... We were expecting that not much was happening because of the torrential downpour and thunderstorms, but we hit a dry spot and I hopped on Kid for Deb. He was good as usual. Raced around a few barrels, and worked on leg yields. Brantley had Sunday and Monday to chill in the round pen and get used to his surroundings which I was completely cool with... Plus he got a bath! Definitely needed one...

Today was Brantley's Day #1 with Ben. The round pen was still flooded but Ben didn't want to waste any more time so we brought him in the indoor and he put him through the paces on the ground. His goal is to go through B's foundation and find the holes, fill them, then cement them in place and it will be my job to keep up with that. I know I can do it.

He started the boy on the line and he was nervous and a little jumpy at first like he usually is with someone new. He warmed up and relaxed after a few transitions and direction changes on the line. Finally he started to breathe a bit and Ben focused on him SLOWING down and thinking about where he's going to put his feet and not just blowing through the line and spinning off into the direction change. Brantley was a little rusty with the movements that we had down pat but as Brent said at the clinic, you can see where he just goes through the motions instead of thinking about it.

After a while on the ground Ben pulled the 'SCARY CURTAIN OF DEATH' out and Brantley proved how brave and what kind of a horse he was. Although the first few times of dragging Ben across the ring, head up, ears forward, eyes bulging, he always went back to try again. No matter how scary something is, Brantley always gives it a go until he understands. Before they moved on to the next thing, he stopped hesitating and jogged right through it. Still a little nervous, they'll work on it again tomorrow. Unfortunately I will be at work but Deb will watch and keep me updated.

They moved back to something that Brantley knew then worked on the rope and introducing the pressure of the girth and back strap around his belly and back to his flank. At first he raised his head and was nervous but after a few times he relaxed and stopped moving but DIDN'T SHUT DOWN! YAY! He dropped his head and licked and chewed and even turned his head, tipping his nose towards Ben like he was watching what he was doing. They then worked on some turn and go's off the ground, something Mason (my brother) loves doing with him. He went to toss the rope over his head expecting him to freak out but was very impressed that he didn't.

I can't wait to hear how tomorrow goes. They'll review a few things that they did today and hopefully if the round pen dries out he'll start him out there. Can't wait to hear the update!