My Little Arabian

Right, so she's not really little. Almost 16hh. xD

Well, I refrained from posting here just because I wasn't sure how things would go, but I am so excited now that I need somewhere to share and this seems most relevant.

In the last three days I've advanced in training my mare to the point where I started putting weight on her back. My mom held her the first time and I just practiced with her. Nudging her back from the mounting block, throwing legs over a couple time. Leaning on her with on leg with most of my weight on the leg still on the mounting block. She seemed fine with it so I hopped on. It was great, she didn't do a thing. On the down side, she didn't do a thing. xD She didn't know how to move or anything, but I figured I'd just get on and off about three more times to make sure she was fine. Then I put her away to think about it, as she was very good. The next night I took her out again while some other boarders were around and got on her inside our "training paddock" and again she was fine. I hopped off instead of easing myself back onto the little object I used and she was perfectly still, so I did the same thing again- though that time she took a few tentative steps and decided weight felt weird and stood splay footed. Shortly after I got off since she was doing just fine and I'd managed to get on one more time than yesterday. And today was marvelous. I got on her two times in a row, and the last time decided to see how she'd react to me asking her to move. She was grand, started walking very carefully at first. One of the boarders reckoned it to her carrying a child. I think it could have been her being careful of me since we now have a strong bond, but I think it was mostly her not used to weight. xD So we continued and she was walking around quite nicely, I steered her and decided to see how she'd respond to leg aids. Turned like a dream, it was almost like riding an old pro, only this was her first real ride. xD We got to the point where all I had to do was look in the direction I wanted to go and she'd smoothly turn that was (and this was so amazing for me because I've ridden the kinds of horses that prefer to ignore their riders wishes most of the time xD). I think we're going to be great together. =3

Granted, I was pretty reckless for only riding in a rope halter and lead rope bareback, but I did have a brain bucket to protect my *stooopid* evil genes (don't worry, I won't pass them on). =D

So yeah, the most exciting part of my project. xD Feel free to waggle your finger or something, or give me some tips to work on things. I guess I did bite off more than I could chew and then chewed it. ^^

While we're at it, does anyone have any trailer loading TIPs? We're switching barns and I'd like to be prepared. o.o Also, she has issues being left tied to posts (like when I go to tack). She's perfect if I leave her with a rope over her neck and just walk away (yay, another thing I taught her lol), but that is because she can see me and others. =/


NOTE FROM THE FUTURE! =O

The barn I am at now has a completely different atmosphere. I'm not afraid to train in front of people, even if they think my methods are nutty. xD