Understanding that each human he came in contact with would probably be communicating with him a little differently than the last actually gave the colt a strange sense of comfort. He began to understand if he could figure out how humans were trying to communicate, he could then figure out how he could fit in with them, and thus survive another day. So far, the key to understanding humans in general seemed to be the colt trying to stay as calm as possible no matter the human or what was introduced to him. Of course, it also helped that the two humans he had been dealing with most at this ranch had also been calm when they worked with him. This, too, brought him comfort.

While the colt may not have known how many days had passed since Henry first sat on his back, what he did know was that he had learned a lot from the man since that time. He could recall that just having Henry’s weight on his back wasn’t too confusing. But the next day when Henry climbed in the saddle, he didn’t just sit. On that second day, Henry asked the colt to move, and that was when things became a little worrisome for the youngster. Henry made a kissing sound to the colt and gently squeezed his sides with the heels of his boots. The colt had heard the sound in the past from Jessie and from Henry, and understood that sound to mean he should go forward. However, because of the extra weight of Henry and the saddle on his back, the colt’s front feet suddenly felt much heavier than normal. He didn’t think he could go forward. As a result, when Henry kissed and squeezed, the colt, knowing Henry wanted him to do something other than stand, began backing up.

Henry continued to kiss and squeeze, which was a sure sign to the colt that whatever he was doing was probably not correct. He knew this because he had learned early on in his handling that anytime either Jessie or Henry made a noise or applied pressure as a request for him to do something, the noise or pressure stayed on until the colt gave the response they were looking for. As soon as the colt responded correctly, the noise or pressure always came off, and it always came off immediately.

It didn’t take long before the colt had backed nearly all the way across the round pen, and with neither the kissing sound, nor the pressure coming off, he was beginning to get worried. He still wasn’t able to see any other option but back because his front end felt so heavy he thought it impossible to move forward. Finally, with Henry still kissing and squeezing, Henry picked up the right rein and gently turned the colt’s head to the right. This not only caused the colt’s body to bend to the right, but it also produced a slightly off balance sensation and, while still backing, the colt suddenly felt as though he was going to fall over. In an attempt to keep himself upright, the colt picked up his right front foot and stepped it forward and to the right. As soon as he did, the kissing sound stopped and the pressure on his sides was immediately released.