Lady and I started out on the lunge line today. She did really good and listened well. When she was warmed up I did some trotting with her today. She has a beautiful little jog but has a nice trot, too. She seemed a little tense in her hindquarters today but by the end she was walking more freely. We didn't do very much because I did more trotting and didn't want to push her too hard. I also didn't have as much time to work her today because Rocky needed more time to finish his workout on a good note. It was nice and sunny today so I let them both graze while I brushed them :)

Today Lady and I worked more on lunging (without the whip because she's scared of it; this problem will be addressed later) and she did pretty good.  She's really sensitive and with Rocky it's okay that I am kind of tense but with Lady it upsets her.  I'm going to have to learn to be more relaxed so she calms down.  We worked on backing more, which she's really good at now :) and then I set up two barrels right next to each other so she had to squeeze through.  The first time she evaded it but the second time she hesitated then walked through.  She's really good about stuff as soon as she figures it out.  I'm going to have to think of more things to do with her or we're going to get bored quickly....  We also worked on this new stopping thing that Erika taught Rocky and me at our last lesson.  Instead of yielding when I want her to stop and change direction I'm supposed to back up and bring her to me then ask her to change direction.  I'm not really sure what this is supposed to accomplish but she's really good at it (unlike Rocky, who isn't...) so I guess I'll keep doing it with her.  Ann gave me a list of all the supplements Lady's supposed to be getting (for her eye thing and her Navicular) and it's a lot.  Right now she's not consistently getting anything because her owner just doesn't ever come out or anything.  I don't know if I'm going to give it to her or not.  I don't really like the idea of paying to supplement somebody else's horse but on the other hand if I'm working her she might need it.  Ann says we're lucky she hasn't had problems since she hasn't been on it.  Other than that it was a really great day with her :)

I walked Lady 4 laps each direction for her warm up then I did some backing with her, which she did really well so I moved on and did some desensitizing with the lead rope.  Last time she was slightly concerned about it but this time she didn't care at all.  So I started to desensitize her to the whip (haven't attempted this before) and she cared.  A lot.  She started jumping sideways and cantering circles as soon as it made noise.  Ann told me to work her up to tight circles and bending slowly so I was torn between finishing what I started and listening to Ann.  I decided to continue working with her on but walked with her so her circles would be big.  After a while she paused, not for long, but I took it and rubbed her with the whip.  She is totally fine with it touching her; she just doesn't like the noise it makes.  I had to repeat it about 3 times on each side before she would at least keep her feet planted instead of moving around.  The last time she even reached her nose out to sniff the whip so that's when I decided to quit and move on to something new.  I tried sending her between the wall and me and at first she didn't want to go but after a few times went willingly.  Erika says that's a good way to build trust.  We walked a few more circles and then I put her away.  I was very happy with how the night went. :)

Introduction

This blog is going to be a place where I can record my experience training Lady, a 13 year old mare at my barn.  I always keep records of every day I spend with my horse and since I'm moving everything to electronic form I decided to make it a blog so those who are interested can read about my experiences with Lady.  I'll include everything here: my feelings, disappointments, successes, and difficulties.
A little Bit About Lady...
Lady is 13 years old and she never really gets worked.  She's been out of work for about a year.  Before that she was ridden and worked (so my job is not really to train her but to get her back in shape and to teach myself).  She is going blind but can still currently see okay.  She also has Navicular Disease so there are certain things (like jumping) that she can't do.  However, once I get her back in shape I can ride her in the arena and she loves to go trail riding.  I'm very excited to work with Lady! :)