I went to the ranch this morning to help Jeff with Samantha and she is doing sooo much better than when he first started working with her. It's like she's a completely different horse. I was worried about the windy day as horses are much more agitated in that weather but Jeff and I didn't have any hiccups. Just for myself, here's a list of what I helped with:
--Held the blanket on Samantha and tried to keep her calm while Jeff put on her saddle. Normally, Samantha would spook (her entire body jerks, like someone jerking awake, and she gets ready to either take off or buck) but today she just calmly moved forward a couple steps and I pet her, cooed, and put pressure on her to stay in place.
--We went down to the corral and Jeff lunged her a few times (ran her in circles) and then he had me do it for practice. Jeff then put on her bridal, mounted her, and I lunged her a couple more times. We also worked on commanding her backwards which took a bit more coercing. Samantha isn't neck trained yet which means she doesn't react to pressure from the reigns on her neck so the lunging was meant to help in that regard.
--Jeff and I had an interesting moment in the corral as we were adjusting Sam's saddle because we both realized not too long ago, Sam had bucked from a similar adjustment with only slightly different circumstances. We both stayed on one side of her today so she wouldn't feel trapped. When Jeremiah got kicked, people were adjusting her saddle from both sides.
--We trotted the horses in a pasture straight back and forth to train Samantha to not run straight for the barn. I found it funny that Sherman was much more inclined to shift his body in the way of the barn than Sam was and I was constantly having to readjust his path. Such a stinker.
--Figure eights went okay. I think Samantha is still a bit shaky because of not being neck trained. I had some good practice with Sherman, however.
--The rest of the ride was for relaxing. Samantha had previously been worked in an indoor arena so she's not used to working outdoors yet. I'm so excited for this little horse!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aside from working with the horses, I had a great lunch with Jeff and Debbie and we had the most epic talk ever (like, 3hrs epic!) and I felt a wonderful sense of calm afterwards. I often miss having close proximity parental support and Jeff and Debbie have been such a comfort in that way. I'm very very lucky.
I WANT A JOB WORKING WITH HORSES. I'm officially adding this to the list of New Year's resolutions.
A few months ago. She wasn't trained to wear a saddle or bridle then.
March 2010. Jeremiah lunging her. This must have been before "the incident" as she's wearing a saddle.
Cutie pie. March 2010.
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