Target's Debut

Target's first outing was this weekend, when we took him on our camping trip. I was really holding out that wearing him out in the woods would go a long way to gearing him down, but I did not really know what to expect from him regarding his willingness to handle obstacles, water, etc.

He was INCREDIBLE. He was excited when Barry first got in the saddle, but he did not act bad---just kind of trembled with excitement, and you could tell he really wanted to let loose and GO. The minute we hit the woods though, that was all gone, and he settled in easily to do anything he was asked to do. He climbed rocks, slid down hills, tromped through his first water crossing which was pretty much a big slab of rock with just a few inches of water running over it---I think that is the hardest kind of water crossing as it is slippery, and their depth perception cannot be good. He also crossed deep water, and water with rocks that moved and will scare many much more seasoned horses. I honestly cannot think of anything he had an issue with on the entire ride.

He does not like to get terribly far behind, or stand still while the rest of the crowd takes off, so there was some discussion there, but it truly was the only bobble. Many young horses are that way, so it is something that we will just have to work on.

He had good manners at the campsite too--he had never been on a picket line before, and he handled it beautifully. I thought that would be our downfall and he impressed me by not having a problem at all.

Because my powershot camera has gone straight to hell, my in the woods pictures totally suck. His post-ride bath on Saturday made for some good shots though, so here they are.
Isn't he a good looking young man? He will really be something in a few years and he thickens up, but he sure is a cutie now.
He loves to drink from the hose, who knew?
And enjoyed his sleep very much, thank you.

I cannot wait til next time!