To The hills and Beyond!

Today I decided to experiment and take Serendipity to the BLM hills right behind my place.  We trailered for about five miles then started our ride.  For the first while she thought she was headed home in rapid fashion and so we decided that she needed to be one rein stopped a few times.  On our little excursion, we encountered deer, brush, weeds (piled up in a corner of a field), birds, another rider on horseback, my distracting cowdog who has a great way of making these colts dog-proof.   One thing that we had to get over is that when she lopes, if anything touched her hind quarters, she would kick out, so she needed me to touch her until she finally thought it wasn't a big deal.  We worked on a little reining and giving at the ribcage while we were on the ride.  Also I had two long scarfs hanging from my belt to give her the added distraction and not to mention the aussie stockwhip that she is getting used to. 
     On the way home, she travelled slow in a collected jog as we worked on her headset.  Several times we would stop and remember how to take a few steps in the backward motion.  Serendipity did pretty well for today.

new distractions

Today I trailered Serendipity a mile down the road to a sandy round pen where I rode with two other riders in the pen for a distraction.  It was great for her to see other horses with riders close by.  She is starting to give to the bit and get her head and neck into the correct position.  I asked her to back today and she if really starting to pick things up.  When I went to put her away, I decided to ride her in the round pen for a little while so that she could stay at the walk and remain calm.  As time progressed, I desensitized her from the saddle with a scarf and also she took to the stock whip pretty well.  At the end of the day, I lead her to the tack shed, where there was a stereo playing and the dogs running behind her.  This didn't seem to bother her a bit.  She is going to be a trusting horse.

Spring is on the way

well spring is on the way and the mud is starting to slowly disappear.   This means that the riding is going to get easier from here.  The first ride consisted of one muddy round pen and irrigation boots.  Serendipity is doing well and fairly easy to catch.  I have ridden her for the past week and had have had her giving to the bit and responding to some leg pressure.  She is taking to the one rein stops and doesn't seem to be bothered by too many objects.  I am finding out that she is a quick learner and should progress pretty fast until the competition.  She loads really well into the trailer and I was able to pick up her feet today.  Now that the weather conditions are cooperating, I should be posting regularly.  It has just been the wettest winter around here for quite some time.