My Life, Naturally!: It's The Little Things

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

It's The Little Things

Yesterday was a really great day with the horses. Evan and I got there early enough that we were able to let the horses out to soak up some sun in the pasture for a few hours. The gang (Rydel, Lilah, and Sonny) were eating and running and jumping and just all around enjoying themselves.

Later, I brought Rydel in, cleaned her up (sort of!), and brought her into the arena to play. Not only did she give me really good sideways with a fence in both directions, but she had the most beautiful allow on the circle at liberty. It was awesome to just stand there relaxed and have my horse trot a lap around me in a perfect circle! Then when I wanted her in I gently looked at her hind end suggesting her to disengage and there she was walking toward me with a good expression on her face! As if that wasn't enough to make me happy, we worked with the mounting block- something that has recently become a stressor for me- after about ten minutes of just having her relax and stand quietly next to it I began asking her to move her hind end toward me and the mounting block. She got nervous about this as usual, but for the first time ever she actually took a step toward me!!! This is huge for a horse that finds safety in retreat and moving away from scary things. She trusted me enough to take that step so after lots of friendly I asked for her front end and then her back end to move toward me again, slowly but surly she started to get the concept and become more and more confident about it! :D I can't wait to keep working with it! These little joys are what keep me coming back for more. I love this journey!