The past weekend Topaz only played the halter "game" once. She is more cooperative in letting me walk up and haltering her. Being chased away is not much fun for her. (maybe it's because I'm her only "friend"?) So now - she decided she didn't need to walk when asked. I was putting pressure on her by thumping her rear with the handle of the cue whip.(my raised arms really got tired!) Considering last week when all I had to do was say "walk", this seemed a set back. I know she knows the command but refused to move. I couldn't let her get away with this behavior so I turned the cue whip around and dangled it to just touch her hind quarters. That was enough pressure to make her give in & walk. Then she settled in and did very well. I put her saddle pad on and had her walking in circles. She still wants to chew on it which has me telling her "NO" every few minutes until I have her walking.
We tried something new. I have a sturdy pallet made of some type of black plastic that I asked her to put her foot on. We danced around it for a little while but the she stepped on it. I praised her and went to get a treat to end the session on a good note. When I came back I stood on the opposite side of the pallet and she again put a foot on it so then the session was over and she got a well deserved "cookie".
I also used the tractor to muck out the corral. Topaz was unsure of it being in her quarters and was letting me know by tossing her head. At one point she lined up to mule kick the front end loader. Not a good idea! I yelled "NO" so she quit with much head tossing & prancing around. She then ran beside and around the tractor getting some much needed exercise. I'm very careful to watch where she is as I'm running the tractor, but it sure is fun watching her run with it. I imagine when she finally has another horse for company they will play a lot. As far as that goes, it's looking better for this May. If the weather will cooperate a little it seems like the fence will be done in time! WAHOO!! It looks to be a challenging summer but a huge amount of fun and I can hardly wait!

Games

Topaz is not always ready to "work" when she is loose. She has (the last 2 times) jerked her head away from me when I go to put the halter on her. This is not acceptable so I chase her away from me. I tell her to go away if she doesn't want to be "nice" I then walk away and (of course)she follows me. We do this for a couple of minutes then I call her to me to see if she is ready to "work" if not I chase her off again. This doesn't last long before I can put the halter on & we're ready to go. The "chase off " was shorter the second time. After I get the halter on I brush her and then we start. I have been working her out of the corral because of the mud & muck where she has responded very well. I drop the lead to clean her feet and she stands there beautifully! She now walks the direction I point to without the cue whip. This is a great step forward. She has known what I wanted but not ready to do it without pressure. I will be glad when things dry out a bit so I can work with the saddle. I'm not ready to have a brand new saddle in the mud!
Topaz has also come to terms with me leaving. She comes 1/2 way down to the gate then heads back to munch on whatever I put out for her. She always comes to the gate to greet me. A lot of time she tosses her head & acts aggressive but a simple "Behave yourself " sharply settles her down. She would be much happier if I spent all my time with her, but as I have told her someone has to work to pay for all the oats she eats!! Since she can't I must LOL

I can't believe it's already Feb. 2!! Time seems to get away from me.
Topaz is doing well although I don't have her feet on the jack yet. I have found that she likes a lot of changes in her work routine. If I keep her walking too long she gets bored and starts "acting" up. So I brought back the side pass and she did it very well after not practicing for a couple of months! Obviously she has a good memory. Last weekend I was cleaning her feet and before I got to the back ones she walked away. Now, when I clean her feet the lead rope is loose so she could walk away at any time. (until now she had never walked off) I didn't scold her as I wanted to see what was up. To my surprise she walked as far away from me as she could get in the corral. She then proceeded to relieve herself and when she was done she came back to me when I called for her. It reminds me that when she does something unusual I should wait to see what happens. I am more than happy for her to go to the far side of the corral to do her business rather than when I'm trying to clean her hind feet!!! I also want to make sure I don't scold her unfairly. I rather like this cleanliness attitude she has.
This morning she called to me but didn't come to where I was. A little unusual but I assumed she was watching Dixie and so went on to feed her. I gave her oats but she didn't move. I knew she wasn't sleeping because I saw her head move around. I put out her hay and she still didn't go for her oats! I was beginning to get concerned. I closed up where we keep the hay and walked over towards her. This time she came to me and I greeted her like I always do by softly blowing in her nose. WELL!! That made everything alright and she went in to eat her oats. I had no idea that our little greeting ritual was that important to her. I'll be sure not to skip it just because I'm in a little hurry! I'll take the time to greet her as I should.
Topaz now weighs 972 having gained over 300 lbs. since we got her. She also grew 2 1/2 inches. She is really filling out.