Out third Horse's Ear Course this morning. Tracey asked M if she would like to choose which pony she would like to work with. She chose Indy because she didn't get to go out last time. It's this keen sense of justice that strikes me every time with people who have had a rough time in some way. It makes them very fair with the horses. Later Nettles enjoyed a good groom.
I'd like to think that Theoden was delighted with the horse toy I found when I was clearing out the shed but instead he was very very cross with it for not spilling out the pony nuts fast enough. He has very little sense of humour when it comes to food.
This afternoon we were able to get Alan on board Bryn again for the first time since I was called out to help. When Alan got on Bryn shortly after buying him Bryn was described as being ready to explode. Today he felt very calm.
Just before home time we went to meet Lorraine's new pony, Evita. She's absolutely gorgous and extremely well bred with a little Arabian in for good measure. As she is only six Lorraine is taking her back to basics to make sure that she settles in her new home but came across a problem when she tried to long rein her. Evita reacted strongly to the line touching her hindquarters and woud surge away forwards. I suspect that in fact she was super-sensitive to the feel of a lunge whip and has been lunged a lot in the past. Her belief is that when she feels a touch at her back end she is meant to go forwards and smartly. I asked Lorraine to act as a dual control and, using only a single line, touched her with the line as we walked along. When she went forward I asked Lorraine to ask her to stop and walk by her side. Within minutes she was walking along happily with the rein against her side and bottom. Very quickly afterwards Lorraine was able to put the second line on and long rein her. Evita looked very happy and relaxed about the whole thing. One ask and she had got it. That's the Arabian influence for you!
