How are we doing?
Milton
New Horse is a star. He is adapting faster than Rodney and I are.
He was hot and exhausted Saturday evening after the trip, but then, so was I. The next day, he looked around. Grass? Check. Water? Check. Hay? Check. Feed? Check. Room to roam? Check. People to scratch my itches? Check. Okay, I’m good.
He’s Joe Cool. He will spook at something new or unexpected, he’s only six, but he lacks the ‘Sky is FALLING! I’m going to DIE!’ response that Rodney and I share. Milton is more likely to say, ‘What the HELL was that? Oh, an acorn. Moving on.’
Front shoes on Tuesday. Blacksmith approved of his feet and his attitude.
Rodney
We’ve decided that Rodney is not dumb. He just has so many voices in his head that it takes a while for a new idea to make itself heard. Therefore, we have been keeping new and old separate for far longer than we have on previous occasions. Milton gets the pasture during the day and the stall at night; Rodney, vice versa. This gives them the chance to sniff noses through the bars. We have arranged the fans so that they are near each other while still separated by the stall wall.
For supervised greeting sessions, I open the top half of the stall door. Early on, Milton came over and offered a friendly neck nibble. Rodney screamed, pinned his ears, and tried to bite. Milton thought, ‘Enough of that’ and wandered off. Whereupon Rodney stuck his head out to say, ‘Come back, I want to be friends.’ I think he has social development issues. For now, they ignore the open space and bite at each other through the mesh.
Katherine
I’m stunned.
In the last few posts, I went over all the steps it took to get Milton here. Be that as it may, I still can’t figure out how – cosmically speaking – such a nice horse ended up in my backyard.
Haven’t ridden yet. Giving both of us – i.e. me – time to adjust. Bought Milton a bridle of his own yesterday. Will sort through bits and saddles today. Might sit upon this weekend, depending on how the introductions are going. To be clear, Milton would be fine with going back to work. I’m still trying to shift gears from horse owner/petter to horse owner/rider.
Plus, we still need to decide on suitable riding times. Oversight requirements will be different for a young greenie than for a 25-year-old retiree.
I’ve groomed. We’ve gone for a hand walk. I’ve sat there while he investigated the book I was reading. Mostly, I’ve been spending my time hanging out in the barn, giving us all the chance to breath the same oxygen.
Virtual Brush Box 
Every time I introduce a new horse to the herd I say, “Never again!” Until the next time. Generally speaking, it’s always gone well. Some noise. Some ear pinning. A little foot stomping. Never any serious I-want-to-kill-you attitudes. It does happen though, so I suppose it’s wise to be cautious and gradual if you can. I would much rather take my time than start out with a trauma and (another) vet bill. So glad your new boy seems to have a common sense dial that hovers around normal! Downright refreshing, isn’t it? 😉
It’s impossible to express how pleased I am. May M&M (Miltonandme) continue to partner well.
Loving your good start! It’s better that you need the adjustment more than he does. Very happy for you.
More Milton Pictures, Please.
Track horse = painless settling in. As long as there is food and water they don’t sweat the small stuff. This, I emphasize, is NORMAL. Do not take Rodney’s reaction to the universe at large as any version of normality. This is what you should expect of Milton.
Now. Tough love FGM says, stop bloody well dithering and longe that beastie, then GET ON HIS BACK. I do not want to hear a month from now that you still have not put a foot in a stirrup! Get on with it, girl. Summer’s awasting.
What she said.
Yes. If it goes on for a month, I am fair game to be yelled at.
OTOH, I can ride thru about mid-January. 🙂