Vrooooommmm!!!

Our first ride was in the arena. Not exactly close quarters if things went sideways. I would have preferred the round pen, but it is what it is. Since there was no moving going on, (she wasn''t offering and I wasn't asking) we were okay. Both of us were comfortable with taking it all in of what each other was doing and accepting it. She just stood there and I just sat there. 

Our second ride I took her in the round pen. If we were going to move, I wanted to give her somewhere she could go, but also a little more enclosed at the same time. If she was going to blow- there's room for her to just run in circles and wear herself down. The round pen is also a little more secluded and distraction free so we had that in our favor as well. 

At first she took an unsure step or two and stopped. I was able to get her turned about a quarter turn and praised her efforts. She was diggin' on that. At first it was a step or two, then a few more and then I let her move towards the outside of the round pen. That's when she tried to scoot a few steps. I said whoa and that was that, she stopped.

Even though the pics today almost all show her at a lope or canter, all we did was walk. 

How many pics of her at a trot on a lunge line can we do, right?

So far I have a whopping 11 rides on this filly and no complaints. She's really doing well. She is nailing her stops and learning to 'read' my body for what's to come.

I am starting to ask her to rate off my seat and slow herself down in the jog as well as combining my leg pressure to get her to start responding to leg cues. The leg cues aren't quite as strong as I'd like them yet, but with time- it will come.

Another thing we struggle with at the moment is wolf teeth. I need to haul her to the vet and have them removed. That should help in the quest to find the perfect bit for her. At the moment she's working in an eggbutt snaffle. She also prefers a loose ring snaffle with a thinner mouthpiece that is actually a pony snaffle. 

She does not seem to like the French link at all, doesn't care for the offset Dee much for western and I have yet to try the regular D-ring snaffle on her. Other than that I have a few pelhams I can try with both jointed and non-jointed mouthpieces. I also have a bosal to try on her. Izzy went well in it until I could get her wolf teeth pulled and also after they were gone. I'm trying to stay with mild bits and find whatever works best for her.