Paige’s Page

Oh BOY did WE HAVE A BREAKTHROUGH tonight!!! After patiently asking for Paige’s feet for many, many moons, THE HIND FEET WERE FINALLY GIVEN WILLINGLY AND CALMLY TONIGHT!!!!  I felt like crying and singing the Hallelujah Chorus all at the same time!

My eyes got huge when she did the first one, then my jaw dropped to the floor when she did the second one! I stood there for a second with my mouth open, disbelief turning into a gigantic smile, then smothered her in scratches and praise and a big hug.

(She used to be trimmed on a tip table like they use for cattle when she was at the PMU ranch. She had never been asked to pick up her feet until I got her at 8 years old.)

She has been wonderful about her front feet for a long time now. She gives them to me, is totally relaxed, I can pull them forward, to the sides, slap her feet, bump them with utensils, and she doesn’t slam them back down. She waits for me to put them down.

But the back ones have been the single biggest hurdle with Paige. My blacksmith, who is absolutely wonderful, can trim them, but it is with effort. Paige will give her back feet, but has never relaxed about it. The blacksmith encouraged me to keep asking for them every day and be persistent about it, and that one day it suddenly would click and all of a sudden it wouldn’t be a big deal anymore. I was REALLY starting to doubt that day would ever come, but it has!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

It was almost like she knew I needed her to do it, because I was feeling down in the dumps tonight. I know that sounds completely off-the-wall, but that’s ok!!  I don’t care if it does!

And as if that wasn’t enough, she had to top it off with one more thing. I’ve been letting her stand tied (in her halter, supervised) with her bridle on for short periods of time to allow her to get used to the feel of the bit in her mouth. Usually she plays around with it for a while, and when she quiets her mouth down that’s when I take it off. Well tonight she only played with it for a couple minutes, then stood quietly like she’s had a bit in her mouth her whole life!

I’m just one cloud nine right now…