Pink blanket

I will be working some afternoons and nights so it gives me some time with Topaz. I haven't bought the large ball yet so we are still doing "Blue tarp 101" She is at the head of the class! Ok, she is the only one in class, but she is great. She will walk around the corral with it on her back. I have to keep her moving or she will pull it off and try to chew on it! To make things more interesting I added a pink blanket. After she sniffed it (and tried to eat it!) she let me put it on her back and walked around. I don't think pink is really her color but it's what I had on hand. She is very accepting and trusting to let me put things all over her body.
I haven't been working with her every day so it was a pleasant surprise to clean her feet today. She willingly lifted each foot as I asked with out using any rope. (of course it was probably the rocks she wanted removed!) While I clean out her hooves Topaz gets bored and invariably grabs the lead rope to chew on. Not good for my lead rope, but it seems to help her stay still. I pull it out of her mouth only to find it back in as soon as I'm busy with another foot! I might be fighting a losing battle with this one LOL
With the way Topaz is progressing I don't think I could have adopted a better "1st mustang"! It has been and will continue to be quite an adventure that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to try it.

We have worked on the "blue tarp" and Topaz has allowed it to be on her body almost every where. I even had it on her back and had her walk forward a step or two!! I am now back at work and the first part is Rush and it will keep me from training for a short while so no blogs. Check back in a couple of weeks because I have intentions of a new class - Large Ball 101. It should be a lot of fun and I plan to have pictures. So far her curiosity outweighs her fear of things. We'll see what she does with an over sized ball. (and I know she won't be able to eat it!!)

Topaz is now going to class. Today was "Blue Tarp 101" Blue tarps are not edible. Sniff a blue tarp it's still not edible. Lick a blue tarp it's still not edible. Front hoof balling it up it's still not edible. Hm! Hang it on the corral it is STILL not edible! What are blue tarps for? If you can't eat them then they are useless!!
We will work on this again tomorrow.

Topaz is getting better with her back feet. Yesterday I thought I was going backwards because I had to use rope on three of her feet to lift them up. After lunging her a little I tried again. Her front two were fine the first back foot needed a rope but then the last hind foot she picked up for me without asking! WOW that was nice! I also stood beside her and asked her to back and she did it without any cues. She is really good at backing up.
When we have her loose in the 4 acres around the house she responds to the horn honking and goes to the corral for oats. This will be very helpful when she is loose in 15 acres. We are still clearing the front to put up fencing. We're almost done and should mark for posts today. That hasn't left Dean much time for Topaz so I still need to work on her accepting others working with her.