Sideways all kinds of ways!

Today I came to the barn with the intention of riding but ended up just practicing our sideways game every way imaginable. It all started because Evan felt Lilah was feeling spunky and would do better if given the opportunity to run around a bit in the outdoor arena (someone was riding in the indoor). So, I took Rydel out with them and just let her run a bit too. Rydel ran like a maniac at first, but eventually all she cared about was eating. My Catching game was failing, she would turn and face me but not come toward me, and eventually just quit looking at me in order to continue eating. I decided I would need to try something else to get her brain working. Since she was eating with her head toward the fence, I walked up and began asking her to move sideways along the fence at liberty. She took a few steps and then went back to eating. Next, I kept walking as I asked her to move sideways along the fence, I would only let her eat once my energy was back down indicating that we could both stop and rest together. When I switched sides to go back the other way, Rydel started trotting away from me and the fence. Taking this opportunity from her, I put more pressure with my stick on her hindquarters asking her to once again be perpendicular from me. She obliged at which point I immediately asked for her to go sideways, this time without the help of the fence and again at liberty. Well she must have caught on because she did go sideways and she did it at the TROT! I was amazed. No rope, no fence, and at a higher gait than I expected. I gave her some scratches as a reward and let her mosey off to eat more grass. She's such a clever girl, always exceeding expectations. After that I didn't pursue too much, we did a little with sideways toward me as well as backing from the tail. I also discovered that she hates when I rest my hands on her face/nose...How interesting! Something, I will have to work on in the future. For now, I am content with the progress we've been making. Tomorrow Linda Parelli comes to town for Equine Affaire!! Hooray!