Different Day

Touch-It on the 22ft line

Touch-It on 22ft line

Changing her mind about going over the barrels

We've got the nose and neck over! :)

Trying to put in as little effort as possible to get across the poles!

March, march, march!

Today was definitely different than our last couple play days together.  First change was that I put her halter on and left her to eat grain while I set up some new things in the arena (buckets for a weave pattern, etc), normally when I'm done I'll go and collect her after she's finished her grain.  Today she met me in the arena! 

It wasn't a bad session today but we just didn't have that same connection we've been having the last couple days.  Which surprised me being that she came to meet me.... She was very impulsive, really needed to move her feet today (even broke a sweat for the first time!) and defecated numerous times - something she normally won't do more than once. 

I tried to reduce the amount of pressure I was putting on her when she was calm, and tried to match her and use up her adrenaline when she was getting impulsive. 

She balked at the barrels when set up as a squeeze pattern, let alone jump them.  Funny because she'll squeeze between an object and the fence or me and the fence, or over jumps made of rails the same height as the barrels w/o issue.  Wondering if the solid nature of the barrels add more pressure?

I did get on her again today.  Much better with the mounting but this dismounting still causes her to be icky.  She's SO sensitive.  I can really direct her with my eyes/bellybutton before reins... I wonder if getting on/off feels sloppy to her??  I'm going to bring my colt saddle out so she can sniff it and do whatever to it and I can throw it up and toss it off of her.  Get a little more desensitization going on up there. 

If the weather holds out I think a little undemanding time is in order while I sort out the small behavior change in her this last time.