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 😆