Things feel different these days.

Here's an earlier post I forgot to post from the beginning of the month. I don't know why the photos aren't coming up though.

Had a great lesson with Claire on 2nd August. Spent a long time with saddling and getting on. I think I have got into a pretty stale routine with B and not taking any notice of her thresholds. No longer! We have been spending lots of time going very slowly with saddling and getting on since then.
Saturday we rode and it was fabulous. Played in the arena, saddled up in the courtyard and got on. B couldn't leave the yard and was only happy in the courtyard so I got off and we walked over to the pub car park where B immediately lined up by the bench. Talk about green light to get on! She was practically shouting at me! Lol. Not surprisingly we had a great ride. B kept her distance from Bert. No spooking and trotting was lovely. We had set off around the old woods but when we got to the turn where we could go home B refused to go any further. She wanted to go home. So I said bye to Sandra and let B go home!
It was quite a relaxed walk and we had a trot up the hill. B felt tense when we got to the top and I thought I had better get off. The second I thought it she relaxed and we carried on home weaving through the trees and having a great time.

Sunday was a whole different day. Warm up was good until I got the featherlights on and B showed how bracy and unconfident she could be, just like when we ride. All she wanted was to head for the gate and get out of there. I saddled up in the courtyard and it really blew B's mind. It was the most engaged she has been yet, paying close attention to what I was doing. She has almost stopped stepping back now. When we were ready and waiting for Sandra and Bert she came and stood ext to me, hung her head really low and switched off. I stroked her head and massaged between her ears for ages it seems. B was really inside her head and it worried me a little. I haven't seen her go this deep in a long time. When she came out of it we followed Sandra and Bert online over the road where B went introverted again. That made me decide not to ride. We let Sandra go off and hung around to eat grass and stuff.

Since then I have been chatting to my connected members on Parelli Connect and feeling like I have more information. Not to mention some wonderful support. I think I have been ignoring my own thresholds and the fear has been eating away at me but I have not acknowledged it. Combined with B's hormones as she has been in and out of season all summer we have both lost confidence.