BIG breakthrough today!

Well, today Rusty had a big breakthrough. First of all, he finally got to go out to "his" paddock at liberty on Saturday. I had been only letting him out while I was there simply because of the other horses; not necessarily because of Rusty. I wanted to be sure that everyone would be used to one another and no one would attempt to go through fencing etc. All was fine. My 2 year old filly and Rusty seem to have hit it off - they spend most of the days staring at each other. I'm sure Rusty is wistfully thinking about what a nice little gal she is not even realizing that he's about as tall as her hock and there's no WAY he would be able to "service" her! *LOL* It was quite obvious that she was very curious about the little troll pony. But, today, Rusty behaved quite wonderfully through a scary situation. Not having seen the rooster and the chickens before, they had gotten behind the fencing of Rusty's paddock and for some reason they were rustled suddenly out of the brush with quite the raucous fluttering. Rusty took off in gallop for about 15 feet then whirled around and trotted right back up to me! Dropped his head (yes! The self-relaxation works even for troll ponies!) then stepped up for his "treat". I gave him a few pellets of Alfalfa and then proceeded to wrap my arms right around his little head. He leaned right into me instead of running away. This is the first time he willing leaned into me! We stayed like that for maybe 45 seconds and then he lifted his head and wanted to play a bit. I am so proud of this little guy. He was so brave and he did exactly what I had hoped he would learn ... look to 'me' for his safety instead of seeing me as a frightening human. Seems like he's settling right in here at Penzance.