October 4, 2011

The little things

As I sip my morning coffee I'm thinking of the little things that Journey has improved upon since she came here in June this year.   So a three month span.

She came here:

Headtossing, chewing, and bitted.                  As of yesterday she is starting to catch the curve of bitless.

Would not stand for ground mounting.            Solid as a rock in this respect now.

Using human as rubbing post.                          No more!

Could not leave the herd without major fits.      We now go...she thinks backwards, but we go forward.

Afraid of dogs.                                                 Tolerates yapping dogs well.

Would not walk on the longe line.                       Now walks nicely.

Did not respect human space on the ground.        Now understands the backoff que when she drifts in.

Would not yield front/hind on ground.                  Will now snappily yield both.

These are some of the little things that have been changed.  The ones I can think of from the top of my head.  Things to work on in the future.

Break this bucking "habit."  Dangerous, and she knows clearly what she is doing and that it gets a rider OFF. Once she does it once, she doesn't repeat it during a ride, even if you repeat the process that set it off to begin with.

Get her and myself more comfortable on the road.

Get her softer still in the bridle.

Start building her up with slow hill work.

Find a riding buddy who will "work" with me, for on trail rating when a horse passes, or leaves, or kicks it up a notch.  This will be a hard one as finding a riding partner, and especially one willing to ride to "my" agenda is difficult, because they have their own goals on a given day.

Continue her barefoot transition.

Customize her new boots for optimal fit.  (Have the stuff, just haven't taken time to do it yet.)

Continue lessons under saddle at least one a month weather permitting.

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Phebes needs work.  The more I focus on Journey, the farther I fall behind with Phebes.

~ E.G.

2 comments:

  1. Jacke, Great accomplishments with Journey! Nice to sit down and write them down and get to reflect on how far you both have come. Congratulations.

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  2. I wish you lived closer to me! I need a riding buddy!

    ReplyDelete