Worked with Maddie for about 90 minutes today, primarily outside. We saddled up and went straight to the round pen for quick work with the bag and lariat. She jumped hard at the bag on the saddle once or twice but overall is still progressing. She was very good with the lariat around her hindquarters and I could not provoke much of a reaction. She is not at the point where she will give to the loop around her hindquarters, but she does not do more than think about kicking it off before she sighs and accepts it.
After that we went to the arena which is on a hill overlooking her round pen and the other turnouts. I worked on getting a soft crossover of the hind legs. This arena makes her nervous and she was predictably stiffer on the right side. I asked for a lot of backing in between exercises, btw. Shoulder in on the right rein was pushy and nervous, unless I walked her along the scary fence, in which case it was 100%! Over the 4-log obstacles I did a lot of lunging, breaking it into short sessions (down to 1/2 circle even), making her yield, sometimes walk in for a reward, back out again, etc. It took a while for her to soften. She was predictable about breaking for the barn every time around, especially on the left rein. Made some good progress in the end, though.
Proceeded to work on the hillside, backing and sending. She did better today, although at one point she made towards the barn and fell flat on her face when she got to the end of the lead rope. But overall this is the best she's done on the hillside. The hill is quite steep.
Back in the indoor arena her groundwork was very good--she is so calm in there compared to outside. I was relieved to see that her shoulder in on the right rein is quite good. Worked on her mouth, picked up the front feet, and did some practice mounting. Tomorrow Maria will come with me, and we'll ride her some more.
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