Yesterday Maria & I went for a ride, Maria on Maddie, and myself on Jordan. We were out for an hour or so and basically just took the river trail. Maddie led for about 1/3 of the time and did well. Old spooky spots, like the tire jumps, were completely gone! I also rode Jordan into the river and Maddie followed without incident. Later on, we took the jump series behind Triple H. Maria was amazed at what a solid reliable jumper Maddie is. We had a terrific ride.
Today I went out and did about 30 minutes of ground work with Maddie before riding, leading up to more desensitizing in her loins and hindquarters. I feel stupid for not getting this out of the way two months ago. I worked with the rope and my hands again and made a lot of progress. She went to bite me a few times but I just waited for a concession before retreating. I'm wondering if I should keep at it until even the tail swishing is gone.
The ride went well, but I did not let up. More roll backs and dandelion circles, backing, and all kinds of transitions. I made sure to keep a loop in the reins nearly all the time and to let her spook if she wanted to. It was a nice day and a really heavenly ride. She stayed with me 95% of the time and I really had a great time. Such a good mare.
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