Day 19 and 20 ~ Forward & Impulsion Arrives :)

Oh how I am loving this :) We rode again yesterday. After we ground drove first and went through all the same preparatory things so that Lindsay was ready. We actually ground drove off the bit this time, before we'd used the halter..which she responds well to and seems to really like, but I really felt we needed to understand what the snaffle meant as well. There is a degree of lateral flexion that is so hard to attain with a halter and a snaffle really can make that cue more clear. She did exceptionally well with it. It is new and she understands the pressure points from her halter better, but she really transferred the information really quickly to the smooth snaffle.

So after driving and sacking out with the ole faithful "Noodle" up aboard I went :) She was a star! We mounted in the little paddock first and practiced forward and turning, as well as her giving me her face all the way to my foot. She was a bit confused at first, but figured it out quickly as well. This is the start of the "One Rein Stop" a useful tool to have in your toolbox when at this stage of the game. That went so well we ventured out into the round pen and rode like a dream. We even stepped into a little soft jog a time or two and it was super SOFT, she just floats along. She did so very well and really did not seem frightened when we jogged off. What a wonderful day!

So today we started back at square one, we ground drove w/ the snaffle...she was perfect this time, so I rather quickly moved on to mounting up. I mounted in the round pen and we flexed a bit a walked around the pen practicing changing direction and stopping and backing. Mike sat up on the rail about 12 feet from the round pen and Lindsay was certain he was a Tiger at first...she did not want to go anywhere near that side of the pen. But I was THRILLED to see that she really let me "help" her and with each passing we got closer. I made no big deal of it...ignored it really...just kept her focused on what I was asking of her and before long she was not as concerned about the half Tiger half man on the rail :)

We did LOTS of trotting today and it was much more forward and "free" Still very soft and relaxed, but I asked for a bit more today and she had no issues moving on off my leg. I even pushed her to almost the break of canter! At that point I did feel her tense just a hair so I let her remain there for a bit then come back down, rather than pushing harder. It is much more important to me for each day to offer progress, consistency and relaxation...that is much more important than rushing to the next step. We will be at it again tomorrow and I simply can not wait!

I was able to measure Lindsay's hooves for her soft ride boots and they are in the mail to us! I can not wait! It will be so comforting to have them when we start hauling...which at the rate she is going will be rather soon :)...