Yesterday's session was a little on the short side (about 1 hour) and did not break any new ground. I set up trotting poles and the barrels and focused on sending her over smoothly with minimal input. Worked on straightness in backing and backing from further away. Yielding of the hindquarters was so-so, but yielding of the forequarters really has a lot of snap to it. Shoulder in on the right rein still not there. I also sacked out extensively with the plastic bag on the saddle (almost there) and the lariat over the saddle and around her haunches (very good).
Today Maria came and we spent about 30 minutes with Maddie, maybe 20 minutes of which were Maria in the saddle, on the lunge. We worked up to it with some laying over, but most of the saddle work was continuous, with one dismount for a break. Maddie hollowed out and took off at a strong trot a couple of times, but she always responded to some bending from me. Maria kept her cool and stayed glued to the saddle. (Maria is riding without stirrups at her request--she wants nothing to keep her from getting of ASAP if it's needed!) After a few minutes I was able to feed out a few feet of lead rope and basically line drive Maddie around the arena, stopping to circle when she got nervous. I changed reins several times. Maddie was able to really stretch her neck and even licked and chewed a few times. Maria rubbed all over her neck but had trouble rubbing Maddie's rump. We will work that area more on Thursday, when Maria will be free to help again. All in all a really exciting session--by far the most saddle time to date!
PS. Erikka called today to say that Maddie was loose this morning! Apparently she knocked one of the round pen panels apart and was running around the farm very wild, getting Bubba all worked up. Aaargh! I think I know what happened and how to prevent it in the future. The round pen is set up on uneven ground and the connections can be a little squirrely in this situation. At any rate, I'm relieved that she did not run off and impressed that she allowed herself to be caught!
Wow, after less than a month Maddie allowed herself to be caught. I think that is impressive. You must be connecting very well with her. I know at one month's time I would have had a BIG problem if Blaze had gotten out.
ReplyDeleteRick Rollman aka ranger01
We've done so much round pen work that she's more connected to me than any other horse I've worked. I can turn her out in the indoor arena and just kiss to her and she's in my pocket. It's fun.
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