Preparations

Seth and I are expecting a number of out-of-town visitors this week, including our niece, Gray, and two of their horse friends.

Of course, I want to take them to the barn, and of course, I want Gray to ride Sage again. Except this time, I want it to be a real ride, no lead ropes involved.

But before that happens, I wanted someone else to ride her.

Specifically, someone else who is not me.

So I asked fellow mustang owner, Rain, if he would be interested in giving her a few training rides. He definitely was, and the first one happened this past Sunday.

Before he mounted, Rain started with a little groundwork.

Sage was fine, so he took her to the mounting block...

and climbed aboard.

I held my breath as he asked her to walk forward, but Sage moved out willingly. 

If she had any concerns about being ridden by a stranger, she kept them to herself. 

Sage looked very confident and relaxed with Rain.

That is not to say there weren't a few awkward moments.

Sage is very green and also very opinionated. Of course, there were a few awkward moments.

Still most of the ride looked like this. I was so pleased.

At one point, Sage acted like she wanted to trot. We haven't done that yet, but I told Rain I was fine with it if he was. He definitely was!

The session finished with a series of walk/halt transitions and Sage's first ground mount. All of this went really well.

I can not overstate how much I enjoyed watching Rain work with Sage. I'm so proud of my funny girl, and I'm looking forward to sharing her with Gray!