When Did I Move to Alaska?

There it is, my favorite tool

I tried. Really I did. I wanted to be out there working Tika while the sun was almost warming the air. But by the time I finished dragging the blasted hose out of the house...yes, to stay thawed, it's coiled into a trash can and they both live indoors...and watering, the sun had once again slipped below the tippy tops of the trees and all I was left with was mottled light and chilled air. When did I move to Alaska, anyway?

There's that shadow of mine, standing around, doing nothing.
As usual.

My fingers are too cold to do much work in weather like this. I recall two very short sessions a day with Steve Holt! last year during the month of December, and I'm not even working that much with Wadatika. But then again, she's a bit ahead of where he was, simply because she's been hanging around for three months and soaking it all in.

Yesterday I continued with the touching and desensitizing. I got my hand down to her pastern on the left side, and she picked up her foot...and then promptly put it down. But it was done nicely, you know? Not fearfully, no striking, no jumping out of the way. She also let me get down below her elbow on the right side, as well as reach under her belly from the right. Big steps for my ticklish girl.

The saddle blanket has her side stepping. With both Sandy and Steve Holt!, I'd had the saddle on by day 8. I'd wanted to do that with Tika, too (my timeline beginning this past weekend, when the trainers picked up their EMM horses), but I think I'll wait until she's quiet when I put the blanket on her. I'll have to go back and look at the boys to see what they were like.

Showing a bit of Tika-tude with those lips

There's something very different about this mare. Something I can't quite put my finger on. We stood there in the fading light yesterday, my nose burried in her soft winter coat. She stood like a mare protecting a foal. There's a tenderness about her once she lets you inside of her space. She curved her neck slightly around me, not tight like a hug, but a small gesture that said life was good.

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Don't forget to scroll down and leave your comment on the Pick it up and Read post! You could win Shadow Horse by Alison Hart. Great Christmas gift!