Day 1 of Follow the Rail

I had a Saturday off so it was horse time. We warmed up in the arena and had a lot of great play with very light asks. Looks like B and I really have our communication going on very well. I set up a circle of cones and jump sides for some Follow the Rail and went and got B saddled up. I really noticed how all the time and care spent at Stoneleigh saddling up has paid off. B is even easier to saddle up now as I just play it like a friendly game.

After all the years I didn't ride in the arena, this day I just got on with it. I set us both up for success despite lots going on around the arena...there's a public footpath bordering two sides and groups of loud noisy people come and go all day at the weekends. The yard teenagers were jumping right next to us too but B and I took no notice. It really is a great way of desensitizing us both. I let B spend lots of time in the middle of the circle to begin with until she was ready. We set off and did 10 laps one way, rest in the middle and 10 laps the other way. She needed a lot of corrections and I really tried not to nag and to release the minute she moved back to the circle. I didn't feel any brace from her and she gave a few little out breaths. Not bad for a first try.

We left the arena and tried to follow Sandra and Bert across the road for a ride in the woods but B wasn't having any of that. I tried a lot of bending her but it didn't calm her. So, I got off and we walked across the road and I got back on from the benches in the pub car park.
We found Sandra letting Bert graze a little way down the  mile and 1/4. B was happy to walk past them and we led them all the way along the mile and 1/4 in trot.

 

The photo shows just how food obsessed Bert is and how he certainly isn't worried about things around his head. I think he was trying to eat the whole bush!

We had a great ride. Even when B decided to run away from something Bert spotted and couldn't walk past. I bent her to a stop, waited and then she just carried on like nothing had happened. It seems I have conditioned myself over the last 4 years to feeling fearful when I ride. Something wonderful happened to me at Stoneleigh and I have begun to look at things, see the pattern or problem and look for a solution! I realised today that I usually rode with my butterflies zooming all over the place. Today I got them in formation by thinking of how I would feel if I was walking in the woods on foot and how relaxed I would be. So I transfered this feeling to being on B and then I was relaxed and all the butterflies lined up! Now instead of thinking I wish I wasn't scared and my stomach feel weird, I just feel the same as I do when I am not riding. How cool to be able to bring up that feeling to replace the ingrained one of fear.