Day 17 & 18 ~ Just Magical :)

Well yesterday was wonderful. We ground drove more, much more of the same...but Lindsay was even more responsive.

We added some "Showmanship" style leading...not just her following me, but walking beside me as if in a Showmanship class. I first tapped her with the dressage whip behind the stirrup (where my leg would go) and clucked...at first she didn't respond, but I just continued the same degree of tapping and as soon as she took a step I stopped... She caught on really quickly after that first move and we practiced a bit on both sides till she had it down pat. I figured this not only would be beneficial in her "Showmanship" practice, but also when I go to put my leg on her the first time. She would have some association with my leg meaning forward.

After she understood that the tap of the dressage whip at her side and my cluck meant forward I positioned myself between her shoulder and throat-latch. I had the lead line in my hand and I pushed my hand forward about 6 inches in front of her muzzle to ask her to "Catch up" to my hand...of course she didn't because she did not understand, so I tapped with the dressage whip lightly and clucked...she quickly moved forward and off we went. We practiced this cue for forward motion quite a while and she caught on well, even though she is a bit unsure of moving with me behind her eye a bit. She is much more comfortable with me out in front of her or well behind her shoulder sending her off, but she is becoming comfortable with me at her neck. It is amazing to me how sensitive she is and reactive to everything I do.

I also pulled out the good ole noodle again yesterday and "sacked" her out with it a bit more. She's really still not crazy about it, but tolerates it now. I even let it kind of "Slap" the saddle and she was fabulous with that. I leaned over her from standing on a tall step stool and swung my lead around over her head, she was just perfect and quiet. I tied my "Noodle" to her saddle making it stand up high like a rider and lounged her a bit. She did quite well, but my 16 yr old broodmare retired show horse started freaking out big time at that crazy noodle growing out of the back of Lindsay. I figured I probably had desensitized Lindsay enough for now if she, the wild Mustang, was not afraid of the scary noodle and the old show mare was! LOL So we called it a night.

Today was more of the same, she was great..took everything in stride. She was so quite with me leaning over the saddle, I really felt like she was ready for me to climb aboard. She was even starting to get a little bored with the same stuff we had been doing for a few days, so I knew it was time. I set up a 12 by 24 corral so that we were a bit more confined. (I usually mount for the first time in a 12 by 12 box stall, I have found it to be the safest way for me, but Lindsay is not accustomed to actually being stalled and I wanted her where she was comfortable, so the panels worked well) I did lots of leaning on her from both sides and asked her to soften her face each direction. She was just a doll, very relaxed..so I softly climbed aboard. I was thrilled to find that she was pretty relaxed with me up there. After sitting and rubbing her quite a while I softly asked for her to flex her face to each side. She did quite well and even sniffed my right toe a bit. Fortunately the sniff did not enlist a jump as I would have expected, she really did not seem to surprised at all by my foot hanging at her side :) I picked up both lines to ask for a step back and she shifted her weight immediately. I then lightly closed my legs on her sides and clucked softly. I felt her body tense at first, but I remained the pressure (Not actually total steady pressure, it had a "pulse" to it as I do, I would rhythmically squeeze and release, just as I tapped with the whip..) After a few tries she stepped forward! We did this quite a few times and were able to walk circles in both directions up and down our little area. Her step feels as amazing as it looked like it would. Very soft and fluid. I was ecstatic. She didn't jump when I dismounted and seemed totally relaxed about the whole deal :)

I will continue to go very slow and maintain the ground work. I can tell she is a horse that does not want to be caught off guard. She likes for things to make sense to her and when she understands my requests her response is as soft and fluid as I've ever felt. I am so thrilled she is allowing me so close into her space, she is truly an amazing individual. She has made me a forever Mustang fan!

...oh also, I have finally discovered what her unique color is...She is of course Bay and she does in fact have the Roan gene (She has "Corning" that on the actual Roan gene creates)But she also it a maximal Rabicano! She has an extensive "Coon Tail" as well as all the white throughout her mane. So, she is bay plus Roan plus Rabicano! Really unique combination, for any horse to have two separate white hair producing modifiers! This is an amazing girl, inside and out :)