The Month of September

I am utterly behind on posts. I could skip ahead to the present day, but Ava and I have made incredible progress. I don't want to give the impression that it happened overnight. In reality, everything we have learned together was a slow, steady process with tiny achievements that built up over time. So here is a small over view of things we did in September.

September 6th

Avalon ties so much better now! Consistency has taught her that the hitching post is a designated standing place. I can tie her directly to the post, or just loop the line around and I know she'll be there when I return. Here you can see her tasting the lead rope. Hopefully she doesn't ever learn to untie herself!

September 8th

She lost the extra summer weight as the weather changed. I'm glad she lost that tubby stomach, but I hope she doesn't go into winter looking thin.

September 10th

We went on so so many walks. All the way down the driveway; all the way up the gravel road. We had a few close calls (one day she tried to back into a moving car to escape a scary looking house). But the best part is that when she is afraid, she doesn't call for her buddies. She looks to me for comfort and direction.

September 11th

This is Avalon standing at the end of the driveway. You can see the garbage cans behind her. She is a wary, but maintaining her composure.

September 13th

Grey horse; grey sky. Just look at those dapples!

September 15th

On this day, I barely had two minutes to visit the barn. We took some grade A (A for awkward) twilight selfies.

September 15th

September 16th

As the pastures were grazed down and turned to mud, Avalon's favorite thing was to graze on the lush grass outside the fence.

September 17th

I love when I turn her loose in the pasture and she hangs out with me at the gate. One rainy day, I walked Avalon past her herd into the far pasture before letting her go. She took a few steps and then galloped calling for her buddies. . . that we had just passed.

September 17th

Falling asleep on the hitching post.

September 18,2019

I wish I could remember everything, but I'm sure I left so many things out. We spent time doing nothing in "scary" areas (like when I took the photo above). I taught her to paw object on command using clicker training. We even started long lining!!

Now you're caught up (sort of, mostly). I honestly can't say what the future holds, but there will be an exciting post all about training Avalon with one hand.