Sunday - out donkey the donkey day!

What an interesting day! All week I have had niggling doubts as to why I even have a horse lol. I have no idea why either. After all Parelli is about way more than riding and my relationship with B has got stronger and stronger this week. We haven't 'done a lot' - whatever that means!!! I guess I am still a little driven when it comes to making sure I do enough to keep B interested. As the weekend loomed and I knew I would have the time to actually ride the nerves appeared and the nasty voices in my head became harder to ignore.

So, we went for a play in the school to see which horse had turned up this morning. I think I have been shouting with my c/s which is what makes B explode on the circle game sometimes. So I made a real effort to hardly lift it at all just as if I had a bell on it. She stayed calm for most of the time on the circle but she still gets bracey on COD if I ask her to go clockwise. I slowed it right down and exaggerated each part, letting her drift backwards and playing yo yo until I could send her clockwise from zone 3 quietly. We had some marvelous sideways along a pole both ways. She seemed to enjoy jumping too and has understood the idea of jump, stop, turn and face me.

Happy that B was happy, we left the school to go get saddled up. All I can say is B really tested me today!!! I started off playing friendly game with the end of the 22' line and she stayed still. Every time I lifted the saddle anywhere near her back off she walked or backed up. So I backed her up or asked her to walk faster and further away. We played put your nose on the saddle and then tried again. B backed up every time I lifted the saddle so I asked her to back up as fast and far as she could go. I was just reaching the point where the nasty voices were telling me to give up, that we wouldn't be riding today but that this was good practice for next time when all of a sudden as she stood still next to me. I lifted the saddle, she didn't move so I gently placed the saddle on her back and gave her some treats.

Getting on was a breeze (sorry) and she stood perfectly still until asked to move. Out of the courtyard she suddenly walked really fast and tried to go into the stable block! One rein stop on the right really works! Wow, great brakes!

Sandra, Bertie, Breeze and I set off across the road and all went very well lol. My fear had disappeared the minute I was up in the saddle and I remembered why I love having anything to do with horses, particularly Breeze.

We took it in turns to go in the lead and played weave around the trees until the turn from the old woods to the viaduct where B decided she didn't want to go anywhere but home up the straight. This time I didn't get panicky. I just sat and waited. Another horse came past. B didn't budge. Sandra turned Bertie and came and stood near us. Breeze turned her head, looked at me and asked for a carrot! That didn't work either lol. Then B decided she would turn uphill and as she did I turned her some more and she found herself facing where she started from. It felt very strange turning on such a steep hill but before I had time to process it we were off following Sandra and Bertie along the viaduct. I had out donkey'd the donkey!! Exactly the same place Lizzie used to stop too, only she had been much more bad tempered about it than Breeze.

The rest of the way round was lovely. We did a couple of bits of trotting but I was very out of sync with B to begin with. I think I was leaning too far forward and Breeze has a very big trot lol. I got better and I am sure when we do more I will improve. She ate at every opportunity which was lovely. It gave me the chance to mirror her and do some ppl. She felt much more relaxed and balanced than she has before and her head was low most of the time as she looked where to put her feet.

Back at the yard I begged Sandra to take some photos of me on Breeze. I don't have enough photos of me actually riding and I think they will help me to stop the fear building in future. Breeze was lovely but it was hard for Sandra to take photos because Breeze kept following her lol. We played some ppl and mooched about the yard for a while. What a day. Just lovely.