Uh Oh...

...Not again.  Oh, dear.  Not so soon.  That funny feeling is back.  The one where my stomach knots up and feels all tingly.  Could I possibly be...falling in love...again?  I've already fallen in love three times this year.  First with River, then Siesta, followed by Capri, and now Belle.  Won't I ever learn?  Falling in love is suposed to be a rare event.  What's wrong with me?  I guess I'm just the lovin' type.  Or maybe these mustangs are just so darn lovable, and impossible to resist.  Yes, I think that's it.  It's not me, it's them!

I went in the pen with Belle this evening and picked up the drag rope.  Her rope is a nice long one, so it's very simple to get close enough to bend over and pick up the end.  The only trick there is to make sure that I'm staring at the end of the rope, not the horse, so that she doesn't feel threatened by my intent.  While holding the rope lightly in my left hand, I encouraged her to move in a circle to the left, and she calmly did.  She went 'round and 'round, with only a slight hesitation in her favorite corners, which I could easily push her through.  When I asked her to stop, she did, and she gave me her full attention.  I gave a gentle, steady pull on the rope, while angling my body away from her, and she freely took two steps towards me by moving her front end sideways, with her outside foot crossing in front of her inside foot.  This made me very happy.  She followed up by moving her hind feet too, and completed a side pass toward me.  I really wasn't  expecting this, but to my surprise I could ask her for it again and again, and she would deliver.  When she quit giving it to me, I sent her back in a circle, then stopped her and asked again.  She seemed to like this game.  I changed the rules by asking her to come straight to me, and again she surprised me by taking a couple of forward steps.  What a smart, brave girl!  I was only in there with her for twenty minutes, but I feel like she made huge progress in that short time.  I have a feeling she's going to be a really nice horse.  No wonder I'm falling in love...