Bill and I took Pawnee and Amir out on a trail ride….a pretty long one too. Pawnee did beautifully, never spooked, never balked; she really did do wonderful out there! Amir did beautifully too! He only spooked once and that was when 3 white-tailed deer came bounding through next to us….lol. His reaction surprised me a little bit…I figured after living up there so long, deer would be the one animal that he WOULDN’T mind…lol. Well, I guess when they pop up out of the long grass and “sneak up on him”, even they’re fair game for some of his famous Arabian teleport tricks…lmao. He did really well though, and I managed to stay in the saddle through all the hopping and spinning and jumping (WHEW!), and then we went on our merry way…lol…..after I walked out my shaking legs a bit….lol.

And other than Amir trying to bite Pawnee on the butt a few times….lol…..they actually got along pretty well! It was funny though, he did NOT want to follow her! Walk next to her, fine…take the lead, fine….but if we were bringing up the rear, he would try to either bite her on the butt or get up next to her…lol…he was damn well NOT going to be the caboose! At one point, they had gotten ahead of us and he bounded forward at a run to catch up…lol. My next goal…learning to keep my seat when he’s running!! He starts off with a leap that takes me by surprise and makes me feel out of balance. Just takes practice, I know, and I can’t wait to start….lol. He is listening REALLY well under saddle though, and not arguing nearly as much with the side pull as he was with the bit, so I feel a lot more confident getting him up to higher speeds. And that he will still listen to me at higher speeds. We’re getting there (or I should say, I am!).

But the REAL funny part was after we got back. We figured we would turn them out in the big arena to cool off and roll before we put them both back up. It was the first time we’d turned them out together since you brought Pawnee down. Well, the fireworks started almost immediately….lol….she would pin her ears back and charge him, but he stood his ground and would NOT budge!! Head up, prancing, with his neck all arched up and his chin tucked down (GOD he was gorgeous!!), and then when she would charge past him, he would turn and go after her. If she stopped, he stopped right in front of her and started pawing at the ground like he was saying, “Bring it on!” If she reared at him, he reared right back!! If she kicked at him, he would dodge, kick, then tear after her and start stomping again. He cut her off at every turn and after about 15 minutes he was HERDING her all over the arena!! SHE backed down from him, but he never once backed down from her...lol. Lisa Jo and Josh were watching and they couldn’t believe how he was herding her around …lol. And his stance! You talk about knowing he is royalty! It was literally OOZING from him last night! He was certainly a sight to behold! He just takes my breathe away, he’s so incredibly gorgeous!  

I think he really surprised her though! She wasn’t ready for that from him and probably expected him to back down once she directly challenged him, but he wasn’t about too. And he loved every minute of it….LOL! You think he had attitude before…lol…he’s going to be a pistol to live with now! But he laid down the law with an iron hoof last night and MADE her take him as an equal, if not alpha…J It was very impressive and I REALLY wish you could have seen it!! It was funny, the night before we were just riding them around the grounds, just to see how they would do before we took them out on the trails. There were a few times Amir tried to take potshots at Pawnee, kicking out at her while we were riding. I told Lisa Jo about it and she said it was because Amir was afraid of Pawnee….lol…and I said no, he wants to kick her ass! She saw what I meant last night….LOL!

Pawnee is doing beautifully though, and seems really happy. Her, Talia, and Cocoa get along very well, and her and Amir I think will get along better now that the “rules of engagement” have been established…lol. But she fits right in and Bill loves her to death!

Anyway, I know you’re probably sick of hearing about all his antics but I just had to tell you…lol. I was really wishing you were there last night to see him in action….lol. You’re the only person I know who loves him as much as I do (if that’s possible!), and I knew you’d be having a “proud Momma” moment just like I was. I count my blessings every day to have him in my life!!!! Even when he does his teleport tricks! LOL!

Well, I’d better get going. Have a great day!

Lisa