Mistie has had a very successful few days & her first few rides are officially in the book!
On Tuesday, I decided mid-session to go ahead & put the first ride on Mistie without a round pen helper. I incorporated a bit of positive reinforcement & it went pretty well. We walked, trotted, & loped both directions. She did get a bit sticky-footed loping to the right towards the end of the ride. I attribute that a bit to the R+ (she knew she had to stop moving her feet to receive the reward) & being a bit tired. I also find that some horses aren't as forward in the round pen. That's one of the reasons that I typically only stay in there for a maximum of three rides before getting out into the arena, where they have a bit more of an inclination to free up.
On Wednesday, I had a round pen helper available & we were able to improve a bit of the stickiness to the right. I did note that our third ride would be going through the paces briefly in the round pen before moving to the arena so that she would free up, as mentioned previously.
Mistie's third ride went great today. We started in the round pen & walk, trotted, & loped both directions before moving to the arena. In the arena, she did great! We, again, went through all three gaits while working on our gas pedal & brake (One Rein Stops).
She's got a beautiful & incredibly comfortable lope!
We've also begun to stand tied after the sessions & she's had no problems in that area thus far.
Next week, we'll continue our rides in the arena working on One Rein Stops, Cruising, Follow the Fence, & Yielding the Hindquarters from a Standstill. We are scheduled to visit Jen's on May 5th. We'll see if she requires a dental & she'll receive her first Equinitry session.
Next week's update will be posted on Friday night.
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