Baby steps

Our second week has gone really well. Through our baby steps we have made a lot of progress and Grace’s ability is starting to shine through.

Because I was having difficulty getting Grace to make a true contact at the end of the lunge I asked my instructor to come and give us a few pointers. Andrea felt that Grace was not working up to the bridle properly and did not recognise some of the commands she was being given.

Andrea did lots of transitions with her through vocal commands, which the first time she seemed to be very confused with, especially the ‘stand’ command. Anyway, she came back last night and the difference was fantastic. Grace had really got her head around what we were asking of her, and worked in a better contact and more consistently.

Andrea left us with our homework so that was where we started tonight: lots of transitions with the voice, but when she trotted she had to work through the bridle not above it.

Everything was going really well, so I felt it was a good time to get on. My husband, Andy, stood by her head holding the lunge line as I got on and then followed us when I asked her to walk on (with my voice and with my leg). Gradually, Andy moved away and then I just knew it was time for us to go it alone.

Andy unclipped Grace and walked away. Grace continued to listen to my voice all the way around the school, and even though it was windy and the panels of the school were rattling, she continued to listen. We even had a trot on each rein before doing a few transitions.

I am hoping to gradually reduce the amount of time Grace is on the lunge and increase the time she spends being ridden. But tonight she did not put a foot wrong, and I feel as though we are really working as a team now!

Sorry for the quality of the photographs, the battery on the camera was going and it was just starting to go dark.