Out for a couple of hours on our own horses this morning in the glorious sunshine with relatively few insects around. There's a fabulous sand track going up from Broomy to Haseley, just right for a good canter. Before we set off I did a little introductory work with Theoden and Bella, who will be starting her ridden work shortly after Christmas. She really seemed to get the concept of being ponied and I am hoping that Theoden will be just as happy riding out with his concubine as he is with his wife.
Another serene session with clicker trained horse Tigerlily this afternoon. This is only the second time she has had a rider on. Today she was busy parking herself to allow Caroline to get on and then we started to move around, just a few paces at a time, for a click and a reward. We moved up from two strides to five which is a 100% increase! We will increase the intervals as we go. In the meantime she is learning to balance with a rider on board, to accept weight and to see a human above her out of both eyes at the same time. At the end of the session we also had Caroline leaning down to give her the treats. There's not an ounce of worry in this horse - just sometimes a little frustration that she can't train the humans fast enough!
"I RODE MY HORSE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I RODE MY HORSE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I RODE MY HORSE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Photos later, but I just had to say it because my heart is singing it and it's all I can think about! She was amazing again - even more so than last time." CW
