Bella –Part Two

Bella – Part Two

Bella and I continue to work inside the pen. Even though it is a large enclosure (50 foot round pen) it’s hard to do much of anything aside from leading her in a circle or backing her up. My trainer (Debbie Little) wants me to practice leading her in a straight line and with a purposeful manner. This is hard to accomplish as we hit the fence line within a few steps of taking our imaginary walks to the grocery store or the bank or (my personal favorite) the local bar for a margarita. I’m quite entertained but Bella begins to show how absolutely bored she is with all of this and with me in particular. Debbie gently suggests that it is time for me to take Bella out of the pen and begin working with her in the drive-way. I hesitate doing so as my relationship with Bella is still in its early stages and I’m not absolutely certain that if I take her out of the pen that I will be able to get her back in the pen.

The afternoon comes, however, when I feel bold and confident enough to swing open the gate and lead Bella out in to the world beyond the confines of her enclosure. She immediately begins attacking the grass with gusto and I think to myself, “Shoot, this is pretty easy”. We hang-out and she eats grass and my job consists of keeping the 22-foot rope from tangling around her hooves. Twenty minutes go by, then 30 minutes, then 45, and it begins to get dark. Then the mosquitoes come out. Next I realize that I’m supposed to be up at my in-laws’ house for dinner in less than hour, and I still have to shower and slap on some make-up in order to be presentable. “Time to head in”, I cheerfully remark to Bella. Bella doesn’t budge. I give the lead rope a bit harder tug and Bella tugs back. I stand-up nice and tall and begin to walk with grave purpose towards the enclosure’s gate. Bella backs up with even more purpose and begins to systematically strip the 22-feet of lead rope right out of my hand. Then she begins dragging me across the lawn where there is greener and much taller grass. I seriously begin to think that I may be there all night - maybe even until Debbie shows back up for our next lesson.

The mosquitoes pull me out of my sorrowful musings and I assume my leadership stance. I stare longingly at the gate (which is now much further away) and apply pressure to the lead line as I begin to stride towards the gate. Bella follows me! I don’t dare to glance back at her but continue my quest for the pen until we are at the threshold and she steps daintily across the ground bar and we are safely in. I begin mentally rehearsing my phone call to Debbie while simultaneously berating myself for getting a wild horse that I obviously have no control over and who doesn’t respect me as a leader. I call Debbie and relay the whole misadventure. Debbie listens to me and then calmly says, “Yeah, we’ll have to work on that. See you tomorrow.”