She's thinking!

Its Saturday and I play with Cici and after I'm sure I have her with me I get on. Having hmmmm how interesting moments. Today when I walked her to the mounting block she stood quietly until I got up on the block and then did that s l o w take a step back thing she used to do. So I said, hey what a great idea lets practice backing! For each step she took I doubled it. I was soft and quiet, she was soft and quiet and after two times she stood still while I mounted.

She is starting to think about all this under saddle partnership. And not sure she is really on board with it. After the first lateral flexion and disengagement, she ties herself in knots. She is still offering resistance initially, but nowhere like Tuesday.

So after the first bend to a stop, when I asked her to walk on she just stood still. "Why move when you are just going to make me stop again!" Took a bit of upping phases to get her walking LOL. She then decided to try walking with her nose just about dragging on the ground. "If you are going to ask for lateral flexion you are going to have to raise my head off the ground first!"

See I said she was thinking! Progress. In sales there are four stages: Awareness, comprehension, conviction, action. Same here. I am making progress in her awareness that things are not business as usual. Can't wait for the comprehension to sink in, and then her conviction and action - in this case partnership.

I'll stay with all this and am passively persistent in the proper (hopefully) position and we'll through it to a soft focused partner. One day at a time.