Black Elk's First Ride!

 Black Elk's first day on Orcas, just being together.

It's a long road from getting a horse out of the wild to actually riding him. First, he needed to let me touch him,  we had to become friends, and he had to accept me as his leader. He needed to learn I could be trusted.  I took it slow, no need to rush, I would not ride him for a year at least, as he was much too young.

What a huge change for Black Elk, from the mountains of Nevada, to the corrals in Utah, to a little valley on Orcas Island. At least he had horses in the next corral, and lots of hay. Nevertheless, I really felt sad for him, losing his life in the wild. I would try to give him the best life I knew how.

We spent a lot of time together, just hanging out, or my moving him around with body language. He was so attentive to every nuance. Eventually, I used a clicker and fine tuned lots of little communications. When he was not sure of what I wanted, he put his nose on the back of my hand and stood quietly, not nosing me, just waiting. I loved his quiet nature, and his intensity, and I loved watching him move. He would nicker each time I came out of the house, and snort if not sure of something new. Like my mustang, Rasacal, he was a talker!

Pretty soon, he was out of the round pen, and into the arena. He learned about lunging and leading.  Then, this summer we started walking the trails together, often at liberty without a lead rope.

 Now this was more like it, he says!

Then, we were ready. He seemed mature enough to be ridden, and I was anxious to begin!  The first ride is always so exciting. Well, actually it was so simple and so easy and calm. That is what I always try for, no big surprises, no big upsets.   I rode him in a halter, with a rope for reins. We walked around in a few circles, we turned, we stopped, we even side passed. Sounds rather dull even to me. No buck, no snort, no worries.

True to his name, it felt a bit like riding an elk, as his stride was so long and loose.

Many thanks to my young friend Abby for her help with my first ride.