Baby Steps

This morning when I arrived at Shiloh, I was sad to see a mare had died in the night, and was lying out in the paddock adjacent to Wishes's paddock. The staff at Shiloh did not know what caused the sudden death, and were quite taken by surprise as this young mare had just had her hooves trimmed last week and seemed to be healthy and happy. Poor thing. I am comforted by the knowledge that she was loved and cared for during the last months of her life.

On a happier note, I made some progress with Wishes today. She ate hay from my hand on about 5 different occasions, and even walked away from the pile of hay she was eating to come get the hay from my hand. And one point she gave my hat a quick, appreciative nibble, and then gently turned and walked away. She still won't let me place my hand anywhere on her, though. I spent 2 hours crouching down low and very near her, trying to get as close as possible. When she'd looked up to investigate me, I'd back off to reinforce her behavior with the reward of my departure. She's getting more and more confident with my presence. Jill tells me that she'll be moving Wishes to a stall within a week, and then she and I will get much better acquainted.