Well, it's been quite a while since I've been able to update my blog, and a LOT has happened. Most importantly, we are now back at Ft. Bragg! Eli learned to load, thanks to the patience of my mom, while we were visiting Jace's family in Bandera. He quickly figured out how to load in my trailer, and we were ready to haul him by the 5th.
Eli traveled like a champ on the 2 day trip from TX to NC. We made pretty good time and the trip was fairly uneventful. Once we got to Ft. Bragg, things got a little more exciting. New horses entering the Ft. Bragg stables have to spend 10 days in a quarantine pen before joining the rest of the barn. Eli was not thrilled about being all by himself, and to make things more stressful, a thunderstorm was moving in with lots of lightning. Luckily, he stayed put in his pen, and was much more calm by morning.
Quarantine has become sort of a sacred time for me. I've been through quarantine at three different posts with Ranger, and although it's a pain, it's been beneficial. Without other horses around and not much space to graze or run, I was his source of companionship and entertainment. He always emerged from quarantine with a closer bond to me. It seems that the same thing may be happening with Eli. He's mellowed a bit, and seems more eager to please than ever.
Training continues, and we've made some huge strides. I can pick up Eli's feet, and I've introduced some more "scary" things. Nothing really bothered him, so I decided it was time for the saddle. No surprise, Eli didn't blink an eye! I had him go around the pen at the walk, trot and canter with his saddle, and he never spooked or bucked! What a champ! I'm starting to wonder if the BLM made a mistake and gave me an already trained horse! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I have no evidence of our latest accomplishment, but I'll try to get some pictures and post them, along with a few others from the last week, in the next few days.
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