Rope on, Rope off

Mr. Miyagi would be proud.  Remember the movie "The Karate Kid"?  Yes, I'm talking about the original one.  Yes, I'm that old.  Remember the part where the kid had to wax the old car out in the lot in the fading dusk and he was required to rub the wax on one way, then rub it off the other way?  "Wax on, wax off.  Wax on, wax off."  What does this have to do with training a mustang, or with anything, for that matter?  Nothing.  It's just what came to mind when I was playing with Siesta yesterday and today.  Why?  Because I was able to put the 15-foot-long rope on her halter, play with her a bit, then take the rope off, then put it back on, then take it off again, as many times as I pleased.  Rope on, rope off.  Rope on, rope off.  Neato, huh?

Know what else is neato?  I can play pressure and release games with the rope on, too.  She'll back straight away from me, then come straight back to me when I ask with my posture and my voice.  I can ask her to move around the perimeter of the pen with me, too.  Not perfectly, but we're working on it.

One more thing.  Siesta discovered that being petted, scratched, rubbed and massaged on one's neck is a good thing.  Tonight, while feeding her carrots, she let me touch her from her poll to her shoulder on both sides.  At first she was offended that I would dare be so bold, but, female that she is, soon figured out that being touched in new places is actually a good thing.  It didn't take her long to give me the green light, and I was able to get some of that loose hair off with my gloved hands.  I'm really looking forward to being able to groom her.  If she's pretty now, I bet she'll be stunning with a slick, shiny coat.

When the carrots were all gone, we were still in the mood for each other, so I asked her if I could pet her star.  Apparently she has a good grasp of the English language, because she lowered her head and let me have at it.  I rubbed the heck out of her forehead and she responded by rubbing her face very hard on my extended forearm.  We went on and on like that until there was loose hair all over her face and my sleeve.  What a cutie!  Siesta has a fun, playful personality and I think she's going to be quite a character when she loosens up all the way.  Did anyone warn me that mustangs have a way of worming themselves into your heart?  Yes, they did.  Did I understand what they meant?  No, I did not.  Until now.