Monday of last week, BB jumped the things in the outdoor on her freshly trimmed toes.
Wednesday, BB got natural horsemanship-ed and ridden in a western saddle (and yes, I thought she looked ridiculous) and apparently didn't get worked all that hard (though her brain was definitely working).
Thursday was my birthday, and with it came a number of wonderful presents from my fiance, including my heart-eyes-emoji I can't wait to wear it new show coat. Take a look at this sexual thing via google images stolen photo:
S/O to the girl on Ebay who was selling it supa cheap to I could actually ask for it without feeling totally guilty. Along with my fantastic fiance gift, I also got (among other gifts) a new show pad for the BB for dressage. I need to coat it in Scotchguard before it gets anywhere near a horse, but it's very pretty and will look very slick in the ring next year!
Meanwhile, I celebrated my birthday and hung out with some friends and suddenly it was Sunday, raining, and I wasn't wild about riding... except I probably really needed to.
I was right.
I retrieved my muddy horse out of her muddy pit of a turn out, and she ground worked fantastically, submitting and chewing and focusing. And at the walk, she was really quite rid-able. The trot and canter, though, were a giant hot mess. There was persistent spooking at the human door and about a 4 stride area each direction where I actually got her to focus on me, and not on something else. I tried cantering until she was tired, but that doesn't really work when there are other people in the arena (especially when these people stare at you like you're wildly galloping. Bails was spooking in control, on our own end of the arena, and was jamming along like it felt good to run, she wasn't bucking or being wild... but whatever). Next we tried leg yeilds and transitions, to mixed effects. I picked up my whip. I actually used my whip. We tried half halts, leg yields towards the scary doors and downward transitions to walk or trot past the scary things. I got progressively more frustrated because she was just being stupid.
I don't know if she finally hit fatigue and the game stopped being fun, or I'd finally beaten her into submission (because for a while there, I was popping her on the ass every time she spooked with my whip) or if the period she spend staring out the window into the future lounge - construction area place actually helped settle her fears, or if putting my stirrups down 5 holes and wrapping my legs around her barrel actually made her relax (I didn't realize I was tense until I put the stirrups down. So much for the AP saddle!) but I finally got decent work.
And by decent work I mean I got relatively un-braced, brain-in-the-brainpan trot and canter transitions (both ways, up and down) and actually felt like my horse was being obedient and not totally forgetting I was on her back. She got tons of praise, had to re-work the end section of our ride again since she came to a lovely downward and then spooked when someone clanged open the door, and was done. She was totally steamed and I'm honestly looking forward to the colder weather because I'm over sweaty stinky horses and am going to clip her if it doesn't drop 20 degrees.
I feel like this winter is going to be ten steps forward, 20 steps back - she keeps making fantastic progress and then she has a bad day, or a bad week, or whatever, and I go back to halfway hating her because it's SO HARD to act like a normal horse and keep her kimchee together.
Dear horse, plz let me know when u learn to horse.
Kthanksbai.
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