Hey everyone, Celeste came and picked up 3 of the Choctaw 2 year olds today to go to Midland School in Santa Ynez. The kids are going to socialize them and get them happy about hiking, baths, getting their hooves done and loading!

1/9/12- "A quiet ride to Midland. The ponies departed the trailer like super champs and very serenely wandered around their paddock. No big deal. We have a "babysitter" horse with them for a few days, then he'll go out into the pasture and the Choctaws will have the paddock to themselves. - Celeste

1/10/12 "They are a hit. Everyone is impressed with how naturally curious and cute they are. Here are some pictures from right after they arrived. They are not very good, but you can see that they have all arrived safely. I'll send more interesting photos as the weeks unfold. Thanks for today. It couldn't have gone smoother! " X Celeste

2/13/12 "Today's foal training class was the sweetest thing I have ever, ever seen.  The girls all worked with their foals for about 20 minutes:  Holitopa on leading at various speeds and picking up her feet and suppling, Spotted Bird at sidepassing along the fence and turning on the hindquarters and dropping his head, Runner at allowing a loop of lead line to be put around her nose...  everyone working in various areas of the paddock, quietly...  And then I asked Emma Lichtwardt if she thought Runner would follow her anywhere.  She said, "Yes, I think so."  (They usually work inside the round pen since Runner hasn't let us put a halter in her...)  So out they came...and Runner followed Emma EVERYWHERE.  They walked all around the paddock, in small circles, back and forth, sideways, walked slooooow...trotted....    So then the other girls took the halters off their little babies, and ALL three horses were following "their people" all around the paddock at liberty.   We were all so happy and excited that we came back to my house and had  chocolate to celebrate. LOVE it! " Celeste 

Spotted Bird            Runner ( Hila)          (Holitopa)