Day 1 with Tank ... AKA Booger Brain

Yesterday Tank arrived. It was totally love at first site. He is just a sweet boy. He is not a really big guy, but I knew that and am totally fine with it. I just want him and to have fun with him.

I didn't do much more than let him look around a bit at the property and took him out to his paddock where he got to meet the two other horses that he will share the paddock with. He was amazingly quiet, as in not calling out. He did a lot of looking and thinking. When approaching anything new, I could see him taking it in. He would stop and look. After turning him I tried to take a few photos, but my phone hates this barn. It just acts up as soon as I get on the property.

The people from the rescue were wonderful! I really enjoyed talking to them. They shared a little more about his story. Thankful doesn't even beginning to express what I feel for all the people that put up money, time, and energy to pull this boy out of the kill pen. It seems that everyone that comes in contact with this boy say the same thing, "there is just something special about it." And I couldn't agree more!

Today I went out to see him and spend more time with him. And today he earned the moniker: Booger Brain.

To be fair, it wasn't really his fault that he was so hard to catch. He doesn't know me, this place, and everything has been changing in his life a lot lately. The pasture he is in right now is a mud pie.

Nothing makes catching a new horse more difficult than having to do it while being suction cupped to the ground. Oh wait! There is! When another more dominate horse, who is also a huge pocket pony keeps getting in the way!

Actually I owe a lot to the 16hh pocket pony, for one I was able to grab on to his neck a few times to keep from falling in the muck. I can't wait for drier weather!

In the end I put a a few treats in his feed pan and he was suckered in. HA!

Booger Brain ... I mean Tank ... was pretty good in all but I did learn a few things about him.

1. He definitely likes being outside rather than in. He was really nervous walking in the barn, and then in the barn as well.
2. We need to work on leading. He tends to get "stuck". As I was leading him he would get to places where he just didn't want to move forward.
3. We need to learn to give to pressure. While he was nervous he wanted to run though the halter. What made matters worse outside is that the footing was so bad that I really couldn't work him properly. In the indoor he I could move him around a bit better.
4. He is forgiving. I was not at my best today and there were times that he could have taken advantage of me and he was not interested in doing that. Not always cooperative but never dangerous or mean. 

I am really going to like working with the horse. Next step, make a rope halter for this boy!