We first met this filly as a feral yearling, fresh off the Yakima reservation, and we spent some time getting her halter broke. She came back to us a couple of months ago to continue her education. This filly is smart as a whip, and has picked up on new things very quickly. We spent the last couple of weeks preparing her to saddle before her first real saddling today, and the time we put in paid off. Nexus stood like a lady to be cinched up, and moved off great.

When working with horses, it’s so important to take things at a pace where they can still think and process and learn, rather than either rushing them through new things, or not challenging them at all. If we had pushed Nexus too hard early on, she would have a lot more anxiety about learning, and might not have been in a great frame of mind to saddle. As it was, she stayed open and thoughtful through the whole process. She’s going to make someone a nice little partner!