Orbiting Moon

Today, the 4th of November, was overcast but mild. A perfect day to do horse stuff!
Sean and Mick fed the hungry horses this morning as evidenced by the photo(s) shown here. Then later on during the day Mick and Sean cleaned out the shelter. Moon of course was front and center all the way. She is so curious and so friendly that she is almost a pest! But you have to adore that childlike curiosity she has!

She is coming along pretty well in her training, despite my being her trainer! She leads pretty well now, she is getting used to all sorts of noisey, strange things that used to scare her but don't anymore. She is used to being all over the place, in and out of the barn, in and out of the outdoor riding ring etc.

Today I saddled her up and took her to the riding ring. I didn't ride her yet but I did help her learn to line up at the mounting block. All these things take time, and I am having such fun working with her because she tries so hard and really wants to please. Horses are amazing animals. They try and try and just want to understand what you're asking. When Moon doesn't do what I want, it's only because she doesn't understand what I'm asking.Then it's up to me to see how I can be more clear in my communication to her. It's that simple.

We spent quite some time yesterday and today doing something that sounds ridiculously simple: having the horse move her hind feet one at a time away from me. Later on, when she is being ridden, she is going to have to be able to move sideways one step at a time or move only her hind feet one step at a time, or only her front feet, one step at a time. These are things that a horse needs to understand and execute on cue when needed by the rider. Otherwise, a rider can't get close to a gate for example that needs to be opened or shut. A rider may need her horse to sidestep away from danger, or away from another horse etc. So learning these moves is a part of the foundation that a rider wants to make sure is solid before getting into the saddle. If all your horse can do is take you straight ahead at a dead run, that horse is certainly not safe to ride!

Moon made a whole lot of progress today! She had the saddle on for quite a while, we played around with a noisey plastic bag that blew around in the wind all over her. She survived that and ended up chasing the plastic bag as I held it and ran around the field!

Tomorrow I hope to get Sean out there with Moon and try a few new things. We'll see where it all leads!
Nancy