Saddle Up!

I had planned to go see Brandy on Tuesday, but a group presentation and two reports without subjects loomed over my head, ticking in my ears like a time bomb (figuratively of course). I came to the ramp that would decide my fate for the day (I had been in McMinnville for lunch with my grandma). To the right was Corvallis and Dallas where the ranch is; to the left Dayton and Salem: school. I took a deep breath and the responsible student in me made the decision. I took the left ramp. I finished one of the reports and did some of the group project Tuesday night; I even managed to double-duty some reading with a workout at the gym. I wrote a paper last night and my group gave our presentation in class this morning so I was able to go to the ranch with a very light load of homework on my mind. In fact, I didn't even think about it.
I was very eager to see Brandy and be out at the ranch today and was so excited once I got there. It's been a week since I've been there and I missed it. Brandy and a few other horses were in the arena when I arrived so I put them each in a stall. Brandy made me laugh because she kept trotting off and tossing her head, assuming that I was coming for her and that she wasn't going to let me catch her. However, by the time I had put the other horses away, Brandy had walked herself into an open stall and stood looking at me, "caught by her own...hoof."
Our session was excellent! I lunged her a little, just to warm her up and give her some exercise, but neither of us were really excited about going through the paces in a big circle for a long time. Instead, I thought it would be a good idea to try a saddle on for size. Brandy wasn't too excited about the idea, but she accepted it. I started with a saddle pad, but since we've already done that several times, I didn't spend too much time on it. Next came the saddle. Very slowly I rubbed it along Brandy's side, going up and up towards her back. Finally, I had the saddle where I wanted it! I held onto it just in case Brandy left and the saddle came off.
Once I had the saddle on Brandy's back I took it off and put it back on. I repeated this a few times, each time leaving it on for longer than the time before. Then came the pad AND the saddle. I put them both on and then took them off. Then I put them back on again. The second time, I fastened the cinch. When Brandy's eyes were calm I walked away. When I came back, Brandy and the saddle were still there! This ended our session and I was ecstatic! What is more, at least twice while the saddle was on her, Brandy cocked her foot, dropped her head and licked her lips! I love how evident Brandy's progress is this year. Last year it was not so clear.