Anyways, a few things have happened. I've mostly been keeping quiet because my plans were rather up in the air, but it's settled now. I'm moving barns! Reasons for this... I won't go into. It's not pretty, though!
So, I visited Reina on Tuesday and worked undersaddle in one of our makeshift arenas. It was like 92 freaking degrees outside (ugh!!) so we didn't last long, needless to say. The good news is that we worked in a different paddock than usual, and she was super good and didn't really spook at anything!!
Reina enjoying a drink post-ride!
Not too much to report about that, but she was a very good girl! We worked on stopping and rhythm and not rushing her gaits. She was "up," naturally, because I hadn't ridden in a while. She was responsive though and we really only had one tiff where I got impatient. We trotted around the ring like 5 times until we were both huffing and puffing from the heat and then she decided that maybe she didn't want to rush headlong around the arena, lol!
Then we worked on trail horse things and I taught her to open the gate again with me on her. She was confused, though, and got a little nervous, but she kept trying different things - back up? turn around? sideways? - until I clicked. Then she realized that I was going to help her get the right answer and that she shouldn't feel abandoned or overfaced, and she calmed right down and kept trying until she got the right answers. It was wonderful!!
Then I rinsed her off completely, and she looked like a drowned rat (and kept giving me pathetic looks about it, too!).
And then, like all wet horses, she decided to...
ROLL! Ack!!!
Afterwards she was half Reina, half Sawdust Monster. I tried to brush her off as best I could, but there was only so much I could do at that point! Sigh, horses.
Yesterday I went out again, and we only did groundwork with my brand new, adorable, multicolored "stock whip". It was awesome and she was amazing. She catches on so fast; seriously, she is sooo smart!!
We worked on targeting! We'll be moving soon and I want to make trailer loading as stress-free as possible, and following a target is one of the easiest ways to make a horse feel comfortable. So! We worked on targeting, and my whip made a perfect target. She caught on fast and was soon tracking it and following it a bit!
Then we worked on responsiveness and stepping forward when I asked and yielding her hindquarters. She caught on fast and was almost a pro by the end of the session. What a smart girl! We ended on a happy note and didn't do anything else that day; I wanted to give her time to really soak in those lessons because they're very basic and she needs to have them down pat before we advance to lateral work on the ground.
So! That's it! More about moving and my new barn soon; oh my goodness, I'm excited, it's going to be sooo fabulous!
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