Winter Fuzzies and First Bitting

Miss Halo has turned overnight into a downy ball of white fluff! Even in the last picture I posted, you can see how much lighter she's gotten as her winter coat has come in. I hope to get more pictures soon, but it's been a frantic November so far. Casi and I have had multiple guests from out of town, and I've been making another attempt to do National Novel Writing Month (read: exhaustion).

She is adjusting well to the new barn, and finally got turned out with the other mares for the first time yesterday. She spent one week in an isolated pen (with other horses easily in view) as quarantine since her lymph nodes were wacky. Fortunately they seemed to go down quickly after the move, which leads me to believe she does indeed have some kind of allergy. Anyway, after her week in solitude she was moved to a similar pen within the mare pasture so that she could visit with them over the fence. And after that week she was finally let out. There was a bit of ear pinning, but nothing too violent. I think she's going to fit in just fine!

In other news, she's been doing well in her training. We've been taking advantage of an indoor arena about the size of a round pen to do some work at liberty. It has translated well to the lunge line. She's become more responsive about moving out when I ask her to, as well as going the direction I ask her to. Even at liberty, her stops have remained very prompt. She's a good girl, and very smart.

Yesterday marked a momentous occasion - her first bitting! We coated some carrots in molasses and let her get used to the taste, and then I poured some on the bit and put it in her mouth. She was a little confused at first, but mouthed the bit amicably for a while and allowed me to lead her around (from the halter) without any fussing. The Arab-sized bridle I got for her off Craigslist last year is still way too big! She's also still wearing a yearling sized halter. I am wondering how much more she is going to grow...she seems so tiny to me after dealing with 16.2 hand Smot.