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.

I'm on!

I can't believe I didn't post the day I finally got on. See it was so anticlimatic. Ha.

Had the lesson on Tuesday with Avery. Cici was much more relaxed. I also was playing with her before Avery got to the farm, wanted her listening. And she was. So did a bit more on the ground and then Avery said okay let get on. And of course Cici reverted to her "oh I know all about this" personality and when I got on she started to just walk. When I tried to bend her (lateral flexion) she said "no I don't need to do that I know what I'm doing now." Avery laughed. She said she thought I'd get the dominant LB horse once mounted.

So now the fun begins in trying to convince Cici about the partnership that we have on the ground extends to me in the saddle. Oh the saddle is fantastic! Okay stirrups too long and Avery had to jury rig them but it was fabulous! The horn is very nice to rest a hand on.

Anyway Cici was bracing and resisting. And after she finally gave at lateral flexion I then asked for hind end disengagement. Quite the time we had. But Cici did get soft, ultimately. And began to walk with a gorgeous big swinging walk. I don't think I ever had that from her before. I'm planning on "staying the course" for a while. Working on soft giving lateral flexion and disengagement at the walk and trot and Avery says canter, before I go out on the trails with her. Oh I'm sure I could go out now and she would just take over and go, as she always has. But now that I have begun to experience the partnership on the ground I want it in the saddle! Soft listening harmony.

I rode again Friday. And while it wasn't as much a battle of head flipping and leaning into the bit as it was on Tuesday, I got more attitude today. Gee kinda of like Christine's Angel! Quickly she softened though. I only rode for a little while, until I had her soft and listening. Thought that was a good place to shop. More tomorrow.