In Sync

My new goal is to go to the barn more often than not. 

Sounds a little odd I know, but when I focus on the end result (being able to ride Avalon) I am overwhelmed by how impossible it feels. Instead of working toward my goal I avoid the barn altogether. I read an interesting caption on Instagram by Michael Edwards Horsemanship the other day about taking horse training one moment at a time. If the horse needs three hours to be caught, so be it. Keeping that philosophy in mind, I started my session with Avalon determined to spend time on whatever came up. The first thing I stumbled onto was a matted mane.

Before

While I took my time grooming my adorable grey pony, the barn owner's kids were riding their dirt bikes. Ava has seen these bikes many times, but she decided to spook at them for good measure. Somehow she tossed her head at just the right angle to unclip the Blocker Tie Ring II. Thankfully, she didn't realize she was free and I was able to clip the tie ring back. Makes me worried to leave her tied there though!

After

After the detangling and dirt bikes I saddled Avalon and took her to the arena. I spent some time desensitizing her to stirrup movement. Then I set up some ground poles. Ava is beginning to hold her head in a relaxed position and I love to see it!

Curiosity and the golden hour

Yes, those are scissors in my back pocket. I forgot to put them away. 

I took the above pictures with the camera timer on my phone. I think they turned out pretty well considering. Then Avalon found my tripod. 

Ewwww

We ended the evening with a little stick-to-me game. I asked Avalon to match me, step for step. We walked, stopped, backed. I walked up to the ground poles from earlier and used them as props. I asked Ava questions. Can you put two feet over the pole and stop? Can you take one step back? Her precision was incredible. I haven't felt that close to a horse since Gambler.