LESSON 17: We
headed over to Pioneer Park Arena in Somerset (which is about 15 minutes from
our home) to work with the horses. The footing in the large arena is not great
but serviceable, albeit kind of hard. This is going to be “home base” until the
end of June and then we will return to the El Dorado Fairgrounds Arena once the
County Fair is over. So we did Annie’s lesson in the smaller arena. She was
still a little sore on her left front (the last trim she got before she came
home with us was a bit short and she had a bit of a bruise on her hoof),
although the new shoes, joint and anti-inflammatory supplements have helped a
great deal. The footing is deeper and more comfy for her so we got to work.
She was a tad distracted at first. Other horses were in the
large arena and there were lots of people on the disc golf course, walking dogs
and so on. We did some Lunging for Respect 1 and 2, Yield the HQ, Yield the FQ,
Backing (all four methods), Sending and Circle Driving. Of course we did
Lateral Flexion and Desensitizing in between each exercise and even broke out
the Plastic Bag on a Stick. She did well and once her brain was engaged and
focused on the work things went smoothly.
Then we saddled up and started her ride! Cruising/One Rein
Stops was our warm up. Then we got into Follow the Fence (she really refined
this last weekend at Sweetwater Movieland Ranch with Marla as her human).
Lateral Flexion in the Bridle, Yield the HQ at a Standstill. Yield the HQ and
Back Up, Bending at the Walk and a few other exercises were done. Overall she
did really well. She has a good work ethic under saddle which is nice and seems
willing to at least try. When we first got her home she was all about doing
things “her way” and was not a great partner. Well, with us that attitude gets
you worked vigorously with lots of direction changes and movement. She has
really begun to grasp the concept of “the right thing is always easy” and is
taking it to heart. She is communicating well (or we are just reading her
better –grin) and we are pretty proud of her development in these few lessons.
Have to brag on her a bit. Even after the LONG haul down to
Aqua Dulce and dealing with the newness of being in a stall, she performed
really well with Marla (the new Greater L.A. Chapter President) and for me
during the various lessons in the arena, on the trail and through the
obstacles. She is getting more “social”
with humans too. She was checking out the little kids who came to the rail to
see the horses. In past outing she seemed not to care about humans that were
not Laurie or myself. She is coming into her own personality as her health and
conditioning improve. Nice to see!
Working on Forward, Back, Forward 
A soft turn (pre-signal)
Enjoying the Loose Rein
No comments:
Post a Comment