Aw Man!

It's STILL raining. Twista is gonna be a handful once this monsoon clears up. This weekend calls for another ride and I wanna go but I dont wanna ride in this, ugh. Time to dig out the Carharrts! But even so, who wants to get all cold n soaked. At least when the snow hits it wont be so miserable as November rain. (Even if it's still October lol)

progress!

Well, 3rd trailride is accomplished, and Twista is getting better each time. I had a setback earlier in the week riding bareback and falling off and then with her being onery about being back with her buddies. So yesterday before we left we lunged for about an hour out in the feild where she'd been so naughty last time- so she would associate that wanting to see her buddies was more work than it was worth. And it seemed to be working, she was licking and listening and doing very well. Then I took her to the yard and she got pushy to be with the buddies again, and even aimed her rear at me so then I really worked her till she figured out what was what and left her tied for a half hour till we left. So 2 hours of "detention" and then we rode without alot of fuss for most of the trailride. At the start she was nervous, and it was windy so she wasnt the only one at least, but an awesome lady ponied her for awhile before the ride started and that helped alot. Then her only thing was calling alot, and getting her face in other horses' rears. So I was checking her alot on that issue and making her wait. The pic is from the highway part of the ride, and she did so good with a car coming from behind and a bicycle from the front-which spooked the horse right in front of us into nearly colliding with us and a freind's next to me. My freind's horse reacted to the horse freaking out towards us, to get outta it's way but Twista just paused when the spooker got in her face, she didnt get sprung or anything and took a few steps sideways and saw the bike but went on as before. Lol, all those summer days of the kids riding bikes next to their pen cuz the ground is flat there has paid off this time. Plus she was tired too lol which always helps. And she got better at standing still, for the halfway point she settled after awhile and even let out a couple of sighs, so finally she's catching on that she can be patient and let someone else do the decisions for her.

The funniest part was when a couple girls asked Cowboy Todd,the trainer, if it was the same horse he'd taken to a ride 3 weeks ago (her first day ever off the farm, first ever trailride, so you can imagine how she was and her markings make her stand out so she cant hide in a crowd) . And he had the credit to say yes it was, so that was good advertising for him. He has done wonders with her.

Today I went out to visit her and she came over all licking and smacking so I'm very happy to see that. Later on I'll take her out and see how she does here. I had hoped to do that last nite but it was dark by the time we got home but the day had ended on a very good note. She has the potential and now just needs the practice.

On our way...

First ever public trailride riding Twista, and her second big trailride. For only having 2 weeks of real work done with her she did very well I think. It was a brisk fall day and the horses were feeling fresh. She got anxious seeing the other horses all leave at once, and was prancy, and my freind was having trouble with her horse as well, luckily Cowboy Todd was there to help us both. Our first big obstacle was a rocky climb up a narrow trail to the top of a bluff- alot of loose rock, steep dropoff, and only room for one horse safely. And Twista was being pigheaded and either had her nose in another horse's tail or wanting to rush past them and being pissy at being held back. She got her back feet off the trail and started sliding down the dropoff, which was a scary moment, but I booted her and got her back where she needed to be and made her WAIT and follow another horse slowly up the steepest part. The other riders were very considerate of her green-ness and for that I'm grateful. Big trail rides are alot of fun and educational for the greenies, but I still prefer riding in smaller groups where there's a slower pace and more opportuny to fine-tune or correct misbehavior. There it felt like 'if she blows up what if she crashes into another horse???' so I tried to orchestrate things to keep the misbehavior to a minimum so other people shouldnt haveta deal with that. Her things she did well was crossing water, circling her to keep her from pushing ahead when waiting was required- so it gave her something 'busy' to do, and a huge tree had fallen over the trail so all the horses had to scramble up thru brush on a bluff ridge (so I was glad Cowboy Todd had already had us do that) and then we hopped a log for awhile- till the 3rd time she ducked around it so I made her do 3 extra. However, whether that got her excited or if it was the farm we rode thru, she got prancy cuz there were other horses at this farm and she wanted to go see them, but I kept her moving the right way. All in all, I am happy with her progress- 2 weeks ago she hadnt a thought past her belly and never been off the farm and now here she is doing all kinds of stuff. The real test will come when I ride her here, away from her buddies. I know she'll test me then, and it's raining/snowing today so I dunno if I'll get a chance. I can't wait though, now she knows all this stuff it's up to me to keep the ball rolling.

The other part of Independance day was driving the trailer and picking her up. I waited so long for that day! Now I just gotta figure out how to hook it up and I'm all set...

Twista's progress

Well, after her 2 year vacation (during which I was dealing with Rohan and another young one) Twista has been in "college" this past week. I sent her to a professional to teach her beyond the basics. Thus far, he has taken her on a public trail ride, ridden her through traffic in town, ridden her through the woods, rough country, creeks and rivers, and out away from her buddies. The last will be her issue, as she's insecure, but she did ride away and didnt fight it today. She called, and got a little prancy, but did slow to a walk as told and on we went for a good ways. I am very happy with her progress, considering she's never done any of this and only been at it a week. Getting in and out of a trailer all the time has been wonderful for her too, at 7 years she's only been in a trailer once as a baby, and then to go the trainer's. She hasnt fought that either with me or him so I am just tickled after the whole Rohan saga. The trainer has said she's very light with her cues so I'm happy to see she's kept that, but he also said because of it she'd be easy to frustrate by overdoing it, which I can understand. Now she comes home soon and it will feel like having a brand new horse only better cuz I've always had her. (I can only imagine what it'll be like when I send Pheonix out!) So all in all, I can't wait to ride her again....