June 1st... It has been days since I've worked Journey. I went out by her each afternoon and loved on her a little bit, picked up her feet too.
Today I saddled her, bridled her, and got on her at the hitching post. It is windy as hell and if you remember from a previous blog, the wind puts Journey in a panic.
We have two pallets leaning up against the inside of the arena...these freaked Journey out so we walked past the fence numerous times in both directions.
Now in the arena, we walked, trotted, and did lots of circles. Tons of changing directions. She's getting so soft, she just bends one way or the other, doesn't get stuck in the center when you ask her to go from a right arc to a left arc.
Journey spooked a few times on the side of the arena nearest the tree line. This is a tough area for most horses when it's windy.
We encountered a fox in the back corner of the arena. It stopped just a few yards from the fence. Amazingly, this didn't bother Journey at all.
In our last session, we started vertical flexion. This afternoon, I picked up where we left off, asking her to give vertically at the walk and hold it for a couple steps. We progressed to several steps at the walk today, then I asked her to trot. I didn't think this would go as well, as she still doesn't come off it immediately or hold it consistantly at the walk. But trotting went great. She was softer in a circle than a straight line, which I expected. She'd give her head and hold it for a stride or so. Never leaned or pulled on me.
If you have taught a horse to give to the bit, whether vertically or laterally, you know some horses will absolutely exhaust your arms. I hardly feel any tension from Journey at all. At a stand still, if I simply pick up the reins she gives before there is contact.
I'm hoping tomorrow someone will have time to get some photos of Journey. She's riding beautifully.
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