Training with a Broken Finger (Oct. 17)

Fun lil lady bug

I need to write these posts right away after the session, because I am forgetting so many things! Anyway, I will try to remember my first day training with a broken finger.

I switched from the rope halter to my nylon halter, because it has a throat latch clip. It is much easier to clip a halter on with a broken finger than it is to tie a knot. At this time I was still in a lot of pain if I put any pressure on my index finger at all. 

The fall colors were at their best mid October. I think that it lasted all of two weeks before rainstorms knocked all the trees empty. Good thing I took so many pictures!

I've been playing with Avalon at liberty in the arena lately. Mostly she grazes or gallops aimlessly, but I don't take it personally. Here I convinced Avalon to walk around with me away from her grass without bolting or bucking.

Sometimes I can draw Avalon to me. Other times, she doesn't feel it. I want to have a strong bond with her, but I have to keep reminding myself that she isn't Gambler. Gamby claimed me as his person right away. Avalon is a mare; an independent, aloof horse by nature. She will cuddle, but she doesn't care who she cuddles. Someday I will have the relationship with her that I'm looking for, but I'm going to have to earn it. Right now she works for me because she has to (her behavior is completely different in the exact same environment depending on whether she has a lead rope on or not). I want her to work with me because she wants to. 

So beautiful! I love this picture of Avalon.

Can you spot my new bestie in the picture above? If you can't, check out the next photo. 

Dinah is the newest barn cat and she is my lil buddy. The barn owner referred to her today as a pest, and he wasn't far off. She is a complete pest and I spoil her rotten. Someday I will probably regret this, but she is just too cute! I have no words for the cuteness of this kitten . . .but a picture is worth a thousand words. 

She's so smart too! When I was playing the circling game with Avalon, Dinah wandered around the edges of the arena mewing and watching us. She is smart enough to know not to run up to me when she could get run over. She waited until Ava was calmly eating in the background to chase me down and demand cuddles.  She climbs my leg when she wants cuddles, which is going to hurt when she is older. But she is so cute!

Overall, it wasn't too hard to train with a broken finger. I discovered that holding the rope between my pointer finger and thumb (like an OK sign) allowed me to avoid putting pressure on the broken finger, even when Avalon bolted.