Making Progress!!!

 Alright!! We are making progress and bonding!!! 

 

Today I got to work the ponies in the new arena! I opted to take Lyric first. Which meant she had to leave her buddies. She stopped a few times and screamed a time or two, but with gentle encouragement, she left them. We got into the arena and did our pillar work. I used the neck rope on her too. Also helpful for her. They seem to grasp back up much better with it and don't brace! Yay! We got some good work despite her occasionally looking for the other horses. And at one point, Funny and Dan were fighting. But they had come closer to the arena, so that helped. 

 

We did a little bit of work where she has to yield her head into me and step out with her shoulder. Like Pillar 3, but.. not quite pillar 3. We did pillar 3 too, but we added this. She was pretty good. One side is definitely better than the other. So then I thought, well, let's try lunging again and see. She was pretty good lunging left at the trot. Not soft jello neck, but also not quite as inverted. And I even got a few steps here and there of her lowering her head and even doing long and low for a stride or two. Yay!!! Lots of cookies. Then we went right. Ha ha. There was lots of cantering and squirting! No kicking at me though and no rearing. I managed to get her to the trot, although she had a few bouts of canter. And this way is not quite as relaxed so there was no long and low strides, but we did manage to get a few strides of not super braced. So I called it and had her walk again. We went back to pillar 1 and pillar 2. And then we trotted in hand and I got some nice pillar 1 in the trot, as long as we were straight and I was with her. But she trots faster than me, so I could only do so much. (Much easier with the M10 though that's for sure!). She got cookies for that too, although apparently she doesn't like the new cookies. Doh! 

 
But overall... a good girl! We did manage to get some good pillar work. We managed to work despite her friends not being RIGHT there. We managed to lunge at the trot and got a few moments of soft work. So yay!

 



And her updated confo shots. :) 






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