A Little Bit Braver

Sweet, beautiful Belle is still making little bits of progress.  Nothing monumental, and each little thing would hardly be worth writing about individually, but together the little bits add up to a smidgen of hope that one day Belle will be ready to join up with me and learn to enjoy domesticity.

Our good friend Capri is back for more training, and the two mares are enjoying hanging out together during the day.  Capri is the boss, and Belle will follow her, which surprised and charmed me the first time I put them together.  Part of the day, Capri gets to go out in the pasture to nibble on what's left of the grass.  Belle gets as close as she can to Capri's pasture and keeps an eye on her.

It makes me happy to see Belle care about somebody, even if it isn't me.  She needs to get engaged with life, to learn to embrace the challenges, and show some emotion.  It's a funny thing about her, really; she shows very little emotion about anything.  She doesn't seem depressed, but she's just a little too disinterested.  An emotional flat-liner, I suppose you could say.  No head-tossing or kicking up her heels, no nickering or bickering with other horses, not even a glare to spare for her ever-persistent trainer.

She is mighty cute, though, isn't she?  She lets me love her from a distance, and for now that is good enough.  Through patience and faith, trust will surely come.  Right?