I caught Dusty, groomed her, and sent her off the end of the lead rope to see if she'd longe. Perfection. Off she went, trotting with little legs zipping about. She launched her silly self into a canter with a spurt, and I set my body "in front" of her shoulder. "shhh" I told her, and as fast as I got out the verbal cue, she eased back to trot. Again, stepped assertive in front of her shoulder. "Whoa!" Dusty turned, halted, and faced me. Awesome. I turned her the other direction, and asked for the same. More good trotting on the line, and another quiet halt. Good place to quit, knowing now what she is capable of. :) Hosed her down, turned her loose, and laughed as she rolled in the dirt, applying a gentle coating of fly-repellant mud.
Caught Princess, though not without some effort. Once haltered, I brought her out of the pen, and asked her to lead with me. Took her to the trailer, brushed her off gently, and out to the spot I'd longed Dusty in. Princess wanted NO part of longing. In fact, she tried to bolt, tried to dart away from me, and generally seemed confused. She reared up, *snap*... There went the clip on the lead rope in my hand.
And there went Princess. It took a single second for her to realize she was free, and off she went. Like a lightening bolt, Princess ran down the lane between her pen and Romeo's pasture, turned a sharp right around Romeo's fenceline, and ran his fenceline rapidly. As she turned again like a flash, I realized she was running herself into a corner of fenceline and brush/treeline. Princess, realizing the rest of the herd was up by me at the barn, ran back towards us all. She flew by me, towards the space between Mo and Harley's stalls. *whew* Suddenly, she turned around, and made for the dirt road. "Oh no you don't", I called out, and I jogged in front of her movement until she decided against the dirt road.
Princess ran down the lane between pastures again, as I grabbed a small bucket of feed and a new lead rope. I shook the feed, and she nickered at me. When she trotted to me, hungry, I clipped the lead rope to her halter. *caught* And, no, she didn't get any grain, either. :)
Took her to the wash rack, and turned the hose on. Complete chaos again, as she did all in power to get away from the hose. I led her down to the dirt by the wash rack, and did a little "approach & retreat" with the hose. She stood still finally, shaking all over, obviously terrified of the hose. I settled for hosing her neck, chest, and front legs hosed down. I scraped the water off gently, Princess still shaking. She swatted her tail at some flies and mosquitoes (how the skeeters got there? heck if I know, as dry as it is). I sprayed her lightly with fly spray, and while she was terrified of it shaking scared, she didn't move. The bugs backed away from the repellant, and she finally let out a heavy sigh.
A hard workout for Princess, mostly of her own doing. Nobody tell her she could've had a day as easy as Dusty did. :)
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