Long lines & mud

I worked Mazy in long lines a while back. Always a good refresher for her and a chance for me to watch her move, see what changes need to be made and fix her issues without me on her back. 

I like how uphill her movement is in this pic. She's starting to lift her shoulders and move a little laterally to the outside. 

Just love that big sexy butt she's got. And the arch to her neck. 

Just one word comes to mind- round. 

The reach in this shot. Why bells boots for life and why splint boots always when working horses. 

I could look at these all day long. Shes back to reaching up underneath herself and using her back and core. 

Again nice and uphill, and because of the mud maybe(?) lots of action and lift

Leaning a bit to the inside so its not just when I'm on her. Now I know. But a fair amount of extension in her gait, on the vertical and doing well enough. 

Again leaning to the inside again, but otherwise lifting, extending and balanced. Now if I can just Ride this... Lol 

Hooved Souls

Shout out to my friend over at Hooved Souls! We met two barns ago and have been getting together for a lot of things. The other day she stopped by the barn on the way to a lesson. She doesn't compete, but has seen a short video clip on YT of what combined driving is all about. 

I had Casey put to the cart and was driving her when my friend arrived. She got a little bit of video as we went around and I asked her if she wanted to get on? Hilarity ensued! We had Such a blast. Laughed our asses off all the way around the arena. After her lesson she stopped by the house for dinner. Steak, fish and chips- surf and turf with fries. 

She put together the following to post on TikTok. 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRpaG7kY/

The comment- We've got dirt- because I forgot to pay attention with her phone and videoed the ground.  We went thru the mud because Casey was in control for a bit. Loose reins not so much when driving. So then when she started to take up slack and make contact- Casey responded, we hit the barrel and wiped it out! 

Casey hasn't been driven in a while since this was the first time I've been on the cart since coming off Mazy over a month ago. This is also only about the 17th or 18th drive for her. Cassie has never even been on a cart before.... All things considered? It went really well! 

We have laughed and laughed, watched this over and over and laughed some more. It was so raw, unfiltered, unplanned and there's no way to possibly go back and do it over again to get the same hilarious result. Even just thinking about it- we both still just crack up. And neither of us had been drinking! 😆🤣😂

A few more tweaks

Mazy back in western tack again

This pic you can see my hands have come up a bit. Mazy is bent to the inside but she was getting a bit braced against my hands. To soften her up, I lift my hands up and ask for her to flex at the poll, soften her jaw and give to the bit. 

We had paused for a break above and I took the time to praise and reward her efforts. Then I stepped off to tighten the girth another hole. 

Getting back to work, Mazy started to stiffen up, set her jaw, raise her head and hollow out thru the back. Lift the inside hand asking for both lateral flexion and vertical. Give to the bit, soften and I will let go. I also have my inside leg on her. This can be used 2 ways. At the girth means move your shoulders over and make a bigger circle. Behind the girth, more towards her back end means move it over to the outside. 

Since a horses body is sorta triangle shaped (from above viewpoint), asking then to move their butt over to the outside- means the inside shoulder will turn in, making the direction you want to go pretty much a no brainer for them. Remember to follow the horse around with your outside rein. 

I really like the size of Mazy's neck and shoulder in this pic. She's really stepping out in her walk. Again shes bent to the inside, soft thru her jaw and her head is down and relaxed so my hands are too. 

She's moving with her head low and relaxed, reins are good. Hands are good, legs and seat? Check, check, check. 

Picked up the jog and while this pic isn't great its not all bad either. I need to Look Up which will help me Sit Up. Open up my hands- out to the side a bit more and down a touch. Maybe push for a little more forward movement while her legs are in the air.... 

Asking for a bit more softness when she got a little goofy on me. Still keeping her bent to the inside and look where that left hind/ right front diagonal leags are at. If I were giving her a bit more rein she may have gotten back to giving me some beautiful overstep- why she wears bell boots 24/7. 

Listen mare.... Inside rein is straight up to get Mazy's mind back on her work In the arena. She may be a bit ADHD. Seriously. SQUIRREL!! 

My hand comes up so she knows to put her head down and soften. I'm asking her to bend to the inside, but my leg says "Don't fall into the drain. We're just circling it for now." Lol 😆