She Missed Me!

Really, she did! It was so adorable! As soon as I came up she hung her head over the fence and put her face in my arms and let me pet her. It was sooo cute! And then, when I went to get her, I had her halter and lead rope in plain sight, and she just turned her head and pricked her ears and let me catch her, didn't move an inch! I'm so proud.

She follows me whenever I step back to try to take pictures! Silly girl!

And later, when I left her in her stall to get my grooming stuff, when I walked back to her she nickered at me! I think that was mostly because I usually feed her in there... but still. It made me smile.

So... I groomed her first this time, before working with her. I learned my lesson! Also, she's in with another horse now, so I can't just waltz in and start training with treats... we'd get interrupted. And I swear I'll get pictures of her roommate soon... I keep forgetting! She's a really pretty tricolor paint. But, I think Rei may have started bossing her around, now. Rei got her to move when she pinned her ears today... interesting! I shall have to keep tabs on this. It'd be kinda neat to own Boss Mare for once... all my geldings were so... submissive! ;)

Nice butt!

I groomed her poll to tail today, and I did it with my new HHC. It was SO fabulous! It left her coat soft and shiny and took the frizz out of her poor moisture-starved mane and tail. Is it just me, or has her tail grown? Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought. Hmm. Nope, I just compared - I think she gained a few inches already (hopefully this isn't mom-wishful-thinking). YAY! This bodes well for this tail's future. Her mane is still 3/4 on the right, and 1/4 on the left, though. And frizzy (less after my HHC went to work!). Although, it's not greasy-feeling anymore. See? Nutrition and good grooming does wonders for a horse!

Also, if you can tell... her hock is better! It's not hot anymore, which is AWESOME, and it's barely even puffy! I mean, it looks normal, but upon closer inspection, I wasn't quite satisfied that she should be doing anything strenuous. You can never be too careful, right? So today was a play day. (Sorta.)

I thought she was looking less skinny lately, but I look at a few of

these pictures and I'm not so sure! She sure is eating enough, though.. lol!

First, I'll tell you about rhythm beads! I bought Reina rhythm beads that match her halter/reins/lead rope, because purple is sooo her color. And, for those who don't know, rhythm beads are something you can put around your horse's neck, and they have bells hanging from them. They ring a little every time your horse moves, so it (a) desensitizes them to sounds and makes them less spooky, (b) looks awesome!, and (c) helps you work on rhythm in your riding. They were used by Native Americans, and depending on the color of the bead, they meant different things. I got Reina a matching mane clip, too, because I figured she'd like some horse jewelry. So here are a few of her all decked out and groomed!

She started pawing! I don't know why. I caught her, though!

And it made a pretty cute picture. :D

Lookit how stylish! I love the teardrop pendant.

Snuffling at the ground, as horses are wont to do...

See, Rei? You're so much prettier when you have your ears forward!

She's not really sure what we're doing, standing around. Or why

I keep trying to walk away from her! 

Aren't they fabulous! I'll do a shameless plug here; the girl who made them for me's website is here. I'm actually redoing her website for her now, so when that's finished, I'll update the link here to her new website. But yes; she totally customized these beads for me, and worked with me even though I had no idea what I wanted, and tried the teardrop in the middle for me 'cause that's what I wanted, even though she'd never done it before! She was great, and I'd definitely buy from her again! If you're wanting to follow my example, I highly recommend her!

So! When I was done grooming her, we walked over to an empty paddock so I could work with her without horse interference. My barn has a lot of empty paddocks, which is great - tons of places to ride and work and play with your horse if you want them. While we were walking, Reina was a bit nervous about all the tinkling of the bells, but she never spooked; her ears just airplaned a bit, and she looked worried. Nick was right; he said she gets nervous sometimes, and it's true. I know I say she's very sane and smart and sensible, and she is - she'll snort and wiggle a bit, but she never spooks. She does worry, though, but I don't mind that. I'm a pretty confident handler/rider, so I can work with a horse that gets nervous sometimes. She'll sniff things she's afraid of, though, so she IS brave - just nervous about it! She shows the effort it takes for her not to be afraid.. I can appreciate that.

So there we were, working on flexions from the ground again! I wanted to see what she remembered from last time.

Slack in this rein, but if you look closely, there's none in the left rein.

Reina is thinking about what to do. (Hint: she gets it right!)

She was EXCELLENT! Not only did she remember everything I taught her, but she could separate signals and got the answer right 95% of the time! I was so proud of her! After one session!!! Wow. I couldn't believe it! So I started softening my cues, and merely picking up the rein without taking all the slack out of it; just some of it. She understood those too, and moved! It was so fabulous, I can't even tell you. I was one proud mom. It was like she was saying, "See? I can learn to listen! It's just that nobody ever taught me! You don't have to ride any other horses now, right!?!" Silly girl!

Happy girl! :)

And I got some videos for you guys, of her being trained. Well, for my records, and for you guys. When I'm reading a blog, I love pictures and videos, so I try to deliver. (Plus, I write a lot, so I figure this will help break it up and be more interesting!) And... I love to show off clicker training when I can!!

Sorry for the lame quality, they're cell phone videos. I think it does pretty well, for a cell phone. But I can't set it on anything, 'cause it'll fall over, so it's tough to get the whole picture. I think you can see these pretty well, though, since you know we're working on flexions/backing and it's pretty obvious when she does those things!

In this one, I'm setting up at first and she comes to visit me and be cute. I then pick up the reins and ask for a flexion to the right (you can't see it, but that's what I did). I click when she turns her head around to the right, and then give her a treat!

Side note: she's adopted this adorable habit of "posing" a little bit while she waits for her treat. She never bothers me for it; she tucks her nose in and arches her neck a bit and keeps that position until I hand her the treat. I didn't teach her this, but I sure do love it!! It's so adorable, and so very polite!

I ask for a flexion to the right in this one as well; it's harder to hear the click, but it's there, and you can tell she heard it 'cause her head swings back around and she waits for her treat. :D

This one is a bit longer because I thought it might make more sense that way. First, I ask for a flexion to the left. Note her nose tucked in as she waits patiently for her treat... cute! Then, another flexion to the left for her attention. Click/treat! Then, a flexion to the right - you can clearly see when I take the slack out of the right rein here, and how fast she responds and how light I can be! Good girl!! Then, I give her a treat and go to her front because her face is oh-so-cute, and she poses for the rest of the video!

So then I did our ending ritual - a peppermint, "all done!" and lots of pets and praise, and turned her back out with her roommate Comanche.

Of course, she heads straight for the hay once I turn her loose! 

(Well, after she bossed Comanche away from me, that is.)

What do you think? Does she look healthier than she did?

I think her coat, mane, and tail are looking better... I can't tell

if she's put weight on, though. I think she has, maybe a little bit of it?

I've decided I should ride other horses in front of her more, if this is the treatment I get! ;) Just kidding, Rei! Really though, even Nick mentioned while I was grooming her (he was chilling outside the stall and talking to me) how much she missed me. He said, "I think she was missing you - I mean, look at how soft her face is right now... it's like she's about to fall asleep!" I was petting her face and brushing her neck and he was right.. she was all softness and trust. She stood very still, only slight movement the entire time, and visited me with her nose a few times and didn't mind me fussing over her at all.

I love my horse more and more! I can't wait until we're ready to start riding! It's going to be soon, too; very soon. :D