Three days, and some good progress ;0) Giddy looks to be moving much freerer than she was earlier in the year, whether the break, or the glucosamine is finally kicking in, I dont know, but I am over the moon to see her moving a little better; still not 100%, but she is happy to go on both reins, and looks pretty good
I set up a little game based around some hill therapy and the circling game, this certainly seems to have piqued her interest, and is doing her the world of good; took the car down and marked a nice track around my 22ft line tied to a cone, nice and flat now and easier for her to move on. Put cones in four places, equally around the circle, with poles on the inside of these, resting on the cone, and those little poly pod things on the inside, about 4 inches i suppose
Interestingly, she didnt want to walk them at first, prefering to trot (!), I am unsure if this is because she has to strech her back less in trot? So that kept us entertained, and have moved this on to thing's like can you go over all 4 without running around the outside, or coming inside, can you do all four with enthusiasm, can you walk to one, trot to the next, walk, trot, then canter; over three days she hasnt got bored with this, and has been happy to go, even offering jumps over the cones, and they are big ones, so i suppose 2.5ft!!
Today I also put her out on the 45ft line for some bigger circles, and got a full circle in canter both sides
Have also ridden three days in the row, with all going well, just doing a little and being careful not to do too much (both mentally and physically). I have been reading about the parelli cradle bridle, and the tongue relief makes sense to me, especially as shes so big in the jaw with a massive tongue ;0) Funds tight at the mo, so have been looking at second hand mylers on ebay; popped in the tack shop today and had a long chat with them; they suggested i try a straight bar, flexible rubber bit, and she actually seems to quite like this, and it certainly looks a better fit for her than the confidence snaffle, she offered some nice soft feel and was pretty still in the mouth; will see how we goes
we did have a bit of a battle yesterday when she got a little tired and didnt want to go forward on the left rein, and was just offering bacwards; I got a little frustrated; but today got on with a lot more purpose, and was working on getting some snappier sideways movement off my leg; have been reading some more traditional riding / training manuals of late, and finding that i am now able to put these in context of my parelli studies, and found it all really helped today
I know for sure I am way too "soft" when it comes to the riding with her in the quest to be natural and not to force her, but there is a need for absolute clarity and being firm when needed, keeping this in mind today, had some lovely results
I have ordered The Complete Training of Horse and Rider by Alois Podhajsky and The Art of Horsemanship by Xenophon, hopefully they will be here tomorrow