riding in company

Maria came out today and we each took a good ride on Maddie.  Still mostly at the walk, but it's coming along.  She spooked a couple of times for each of us, but shut down easily on a one-rein stop.  Two riders joined us in the arena and she did very well with them.  We had about 1 hour total of saddle time today, I think.  As the video shows, impulsion is still the biggest issue.  She has really improved at the walk, but Maddie is not staying in the trot for very long.  Neither one of us has the nerve to drop the reins and be fully ready with the spanker when she shuts down, but we're making progress.  For now, I am just trying to send her into a strong trot and then stopping her before she stops on her own, which I mostly manage to do.

After the ride we walked her out to the road together and took some pictures.  Maria left and I gave Maddie a quick mental break in her turnout area.  Then I brought her back into the arena and worked on desensitizing.  We still can't touch her back behind the saddle very well when mounted, so I trotted her a bunch with my stick rubbing back there.  Then I slipped a tarp under the front of the saddle and made it wave like a flag as I trotted her around me.  Similarly, I draped the tarp over the lead line and lunged her as well.

I finished with some work under the tail, which was difficult to get right.  I attached rope to the saddle and let it drape around her hindquarters, and lunged her around.  She was hoppy for the first few turns on both sides, but accepted the rope without too much trouble.  When I pulled the rope up under her tail, she went to bucking.  I held it there until she stopped, but it was tricky to find a starting point for this exercise.  By the end she could handle it well at the halt and the walk, but I did not get it real solid at the trot.  I had to work both sides several times.  Better try this again tomorrow to make sure there is progress.