I'm glad it happened!

Apologizes for a rambling blog on Saturday.  I'd written it over a few days and my brain has been working overtime thinking about Tilly and another difficult horse that I may take on.

One of the points I may have glossed over was the idea, am I coddling Tilly?  Do I allow her to get away with being high maintenance and dramatic?  I try to have a sense of humor about the behavior but I certainly do not wish to have a  static perception.

Tilly has come a long way in her development.  Her ground manners are almost impeccable now and I recall how naughty she once was... I'm so grateful I can lead her into a stall... cross tie her and walk away... orally administer her supplements without her rearing... load into a trailer... etc.  She is also more obedient in her work, and I truly believe she does not intend to remove from her back when she bucks.   She's just expressive, but it is time I ask her to tone it down.

After she bucked me off, her demeanor was different.  Mine was too, ha!  I came to the session today with the same attitude:  "don't you dare."  TNT accepted the challenge by trying to figure out the exercises.  I worked to clearly explain that she was expected to Canter half pass one way and then fly the change to a canter half pass the other way. 

I began warming up with a simple change in between the zig zags.  I asked for the change of bend in the walk and simultaneously began traveling in the new direction.   Her legs started to get tangled when the bend changed and I asked her to half pass, so I decided to just continue walking in the half pass until she organized herself. 

I liked how the exercise suppled her laterally so I kept it up:

Tilly was so focused!  She really wanted to get her legs sorted and her canter was super collected and light - I loved it! 

Occasionally she will flex her under neck muscle and push through her chest but today she was buttery soft in her under neck and lifting in her chest - yeah!!  Our simple changes were also fantastic!  She was a bit too halted in the transition at our last show and the judges nailed us on that movement.  Since Tilly had to think about getting organized and half passing immediately in the walk, she flowed into the walk from the canter.
----------------------------
Here is a training journal entry from last year:  July 12th, 2011:

"Need to long line again tomorrow, Canter left will improve!!  It's like she's getting stronger but the power is tangling her legs... or maybe she's having trouble figuring out how to lift her shoulders and the increased power is getting hung up in the middle somewhere. :)"

It's always good to see how far we've come, but I am going to toughen up mentally and forge ahead.  Tilly and I are committed to getting the changes clarified this summer!