Mission: Parelli

I have a horse. (yay!)

As part of my activities with my newly arrived horse, I am studying Parelli's natural horsemanship curriculum. So, I'll be musing over observations and assignments as needed, and post updates on how Jester and I are getting along.

Meet Jester

The horse's name coming to me was Buster, but I'm trying out the name Jester instead. He is a Haflinger cross, which is to say part Haflinger, and part something they're not really sure of. The owner says the main theory is Appaloosa, but it could be anything. He's a pretty classic looking Haflinger, though. His owner before the current one (I'm only leasing him, much like you would a car) bought him at auction, so there's a fair bit of unknown to the guy. The vets put his age in the late teens, which is old enough to know better but still got some good life left in him. He's pretty feisty, actually, and very social. When I went to visit him the other day, he kept coming over to me in the paddock, checking up. When I left, he stood at the gate for a little bit, and then turned and *ran* to the far side of the paddock, where the barn manager was cleaning up. "Ooh, what's going on over here?!"

Currently I'm waiting on some equipment I ordered to arrive before going out on our first ride, but I broke out the natural horsemanship curriculum I bought a couple years ago and have started working through it this weekend. (It starts with ground handling stuff, and I have the equipment I need for that.)

There are a handful of other people who board horses at the barn (just around the corner from our house) and they all mostly trail ride, so once I do get riding, it shouldn't be too hard to find people to go out with. It's also close enough that I should be able to ride him home if I want to, like when I have friends or family visiting and want to show him off. :)