Lily's in the field

~~~Nice butt!~~~

Well, as of yesterday afternoon, the Lovestead horse family is once again complete.

Laurie and I drove to Spokane to pick up Miss Lily.

If you've been following the blog, you know she's been off at school. I call it second grade cuz she went to the same place for her initial schooling last year. That would be the Spokane Equestrian Center with trainer Monty Collison.

Lily is now four and much smarter about her gaits and her behavior than she was prior to this year's training.

We were impressed with how smooth and steady her jog and lope are with how much easier every transition into a different movement looks. This year, she learned about spurs and how when one jabs you lightly in the side, you move. She learned that if she doesn't move, the jabs get progressively more intense.

She also learned that when she braces up to buck, she has to do more work----turn in circles, lope longer, etc. Lily doesn't like to work so she's generally been pretty responsive to discipline measures.

The better she acts the less work she has to do. Amazing!

Monte knows Lily like we know Lily: all the potential in the world but all the personality in the world too. Sometimes that personality shows stubbornness and rebellion: I'm not gonna do this.

So, we all know that she knows what to do, but she may decide that she just ain't gonna do it.

Hopefully, that will change with maturity. For now, we're excited about her possibilities this summer, and I'm excited to saddle her up and ride her down the road.

Laurie says she'll handle the going around in circles and the show ring stuff, while I'll handle the trails. And that will be just fine.

We're glad to have Miss Lily back among the herd. I don't know what Lefty and Heather think about that though. Life was pretty good for six weeks without Lily to boss them around.