Dakota's triumphant arrival

The shipper delivered Dakota at 4 this afternoon. He was all alone in the big trailer. I clipped the lead to his halter, and he quietly turned himself around and followed me to the door. He looked right, looked left, and then stepped calmly to the ground. I turned him loose in the covered arena, and he walked around looking at everything. Then I threw him some hay and that was that. This little guy loves his food!

Tomorrow he'll be moved to a stall overlooking the pasture for the next two days. On day three, he'll join the herd. This is the first time I've ever pasture boarded; it's one of the reasons I was excited to get a mustang. He should do just fine, weight-wise and foot-wise. I looked over his papers and found that, appropriately enough, he's from the Palomino Buttes herd of Oregon mustangs.

I'm waiting on a lunge line and a girth that I just ordered before I can start lungeing, so until they arrive I'm going to work on basic ground manners and see he how he does. If unloading from the trailer is any indication, I think he has a solid foundation. I'm also going to get to work on that mop of a mane. All the while teaching him that I am the fun carrot lady.