Session #3

Got to play again today! In the barn alley, because it is treacherously icy and bitterly windy.

Started with the boomerang draw. Mo is getting really good at seeking my bellybutton on her own and putting effort into getting there. Really really excited about that!

Her haunches in left was stellar right from the get go. Played with some turns on the haunches with my hand at the girth, instead of drawing the shoulders. She was a little wiggly at first, but got it really quickly.

The coolest part was watching her AHA moment with the haunches in right. For whatever reason, that is really really hard for her and today she finally went ITS THIS RIGHT and totally just picked herself up and floated over down the alley in a beautiful haunches in! She got lots of cookies for that ;)

We also did the best school halt she has done yet! It took a lot of trying on her part, but she really started to experiment with sitting on her back end and bending her hocks. I learned today the meaning of "touch the hair" - I hardly even touched her skin today, just used the tail end of the dressage whip to tickle the ends of her fuzzy winter hairs and she was shivering her skin, shaking her head as if to get rid of a bug when I was near her withers, and swishing her tail if I was near her back end. Mission: Annoy Mo until she tries something - Accomplished.

It was so fascinating to watch her go through this whole annoyed process, especially in the school halt, because she usually wants to get tense and just throw out everything she knows - spanish walk, piaffe, rear, the haunches in - anything to just get it "done" without really thinking about it. If I up my phases then she just kind of jumps around and happens to get it and I release because she got it, hoping the calm try will come next time. Today though (and each session since this started) I have really adjusted my thinking in applying phases and getting lightness and most importantly TRY. I stayed at that one annoying phase, just bothering her to try, without making it an issue that she must do it NOW. It was so interesting watching her work through offering everything she knows, waiting for the pressure to intensify and when it didnt, just calmly sitting down into the school halt. Smarty pants pony.

I really think Mo is the best teacher I have ever had. When I shut up and listen to her.