Just a little back history to start. Bailey is a three year old draft cross. She is LBI and is very smart. I have noticed that she wants to please, ask questions and is very sweet.
June 6, 2009 we started our journey together. After picking her up and taking her back to Janet's farm, the next day we decided to ride her bareback. So we each got on her and lead each other around. She was find with that and everything went well. Janet then put three weeks of training on her and she could, walk, trot and Canter under saddle. She could open gates and go sideways. I would come and walk her around each weekend. July 1st she was moved to the boarding stable near my house and our real journey began.
I stared the 7 games with her and she was very easy to teach. We had Jeryln come over and give a mini clinic and Bailey was doing the squeeze came (very tight) with out any trouble. Next we did some poles and little jumps. Bailey can jump nicely and seems to like it.
All was going well and then she came down with Sinis Sinus and was coughing and sick for several weeks. It took to kinds of medicine to find out what was the problem. So I really didn't do very much with her during that time.
We had some problems of her standing still as I got on her and Janet suggested that I take her to the corner of the arena and face her into the corner so she couldn't move off. Once, I showed Bailey this is how I wanted to mount (bareback) she would easily get in the right position so I could get on. And then learned to go back on the other side so I could step up on a support side and step off. (very smart girl)
Most of my walking around was bareback in the arena. I did take her into the woods and we did some circling game on line and then I would get on and go weaving in and out of the trees. She was very easy to bend and happy to move around them.
In the arena, I had problems making her go and had to use the reins tapping her on each side to make her go. Finally there was some video on why LBI don't like circles and I should just do point to point with her. This changed a lot of things. She would go forward if I focused on a point across the arena and down the arena.
What we were doing was just getting our relationship together. It worked, we bonded very close and she would do a lot for me.
In August, I decided to set a goal on doing a "Ride for the Cure" in the Grasslands with Bailey, none of my friends wanted to get the sponsorship money up, so I was to ride the ride alone. Thinking about this I asked Jeryly about someone that was savvy to ride with, she knew of someone and hooked me up with three other people to ride with.
Now, we had to get Bailey out on the trails. First Janet and I took her down the yard and across the concrete bridge on the property. She was not sure, but did go over it easy enough. I was in a golf cart and riding ahead of them. She went out the gate and down the berm like a pro. (Following a golf cart is what they do to get to the pasture very day, so it was like a safety net. We were going down the road and Bailey was trotting after the cart. Such Fun
Our First trip off the property was to Chris's barn. It has nice Little trails, open field and a covered arena. She was very sensible there, I did games with her in the arena and then rode her with Janet and another horse thought he trails, around the field. She looked at stuff, but was relaxed and very cool about all of the new stuff. Had problems with the heat and got sick, had to wait and cool myself off before I could help Bailey. She took a bath in the cross ties and had a fan on her. I was still pretty weak, but got her loaded and home okay. Bailey was a star.
Then a couple of weeks later, off the Benbrook Lake trails. We decided to walk them to the creek and send them up the other side (Janet was there with Pandy her 6 year old warmblood) Bailey was doing great, but I was a little nervous so I kept walking her and Janet was riding. Then Janet said just get on her and see what you have, there was a picnic table there and she stood right next to it. I got on and she was find. Off we went down the trails. Pandy did some spook and Bailey jumped behind her, very manageable. Then we came upon two white chairs and and a table in the field. While we were letting the girls look at it, out from behind flew a big Hawk. He had another jump in place spook and all was well. The weather was not helping it was 95 degrees and it was not a shady trail. We were out there about hour and half and decided to come back. There were some ditches (erosion) form the rain and I could not get Bailey to go through them, she kept jumping over to the other side on the bank. I took her back several time and she gave it a try and I let it be. She was so good on her first ride.
Next outing was on Labor Day and I took her over to Jan's place to do a Playday and we played in the round pen and did cones, (pedestal was not for her at this time), jumping or going over the barrels was also trouble, so I split them up and she went easily through them. We had a shower curtain cut into strips and hung on the gate of the round pen, she walked right through, no problem. Had to help Jan's horse go through, has he was very frighten. I didn't push him and waited it out and he went through several times for me. Very brave guy. After playing in the round pen and all we then saddled up and rode, (once again the heat was getting to me) and I had to drink more fluids, but we were going to ride there. I got on Bailey with a two step mounting block she was standing very still, (never had a mounting block before) and we walked around the obstacles and then she lead up into the field. Once again she was a Super Star. I am so proud of her.
Then the rains came and we had nothing but rain and more rain. All I could do was walk around in the arena and do our back up, sideways and more 7 games.
Had a lesson with Jeryln and we learned out to disengage the hind in and a good figure 8 and some more bareback riding. I am always so amazed how quickly this mare picks up stuff. We are now going out into the woods and getting on the Pedestal and walking around the trees.
Time for the "Ride for the Cure" and it is 44 degrees and raining all week. I have a sinus infection and can't make the ride. I was so disappointed that the timing was just off.
I took Bailey to Janet's on Thursday night to have her ridden and see if we could play with her a little. Saturday it was cold, but we decided to ride around the field and do some bank and water crossing with the girls. First I did the 7 games and we went over all the ob scales in Janet's ring, I did a circling game and she was really forward. I got on her and she really wasn 't the normal horse I had in the 90 degree weather. She was more horse and very antsy. He went following Janet and Pandy into the woods and she didn't listen to me and went through the Mesquite trees and got a thorn on her back and I had to do a one rein stop to make her listen, she did calm down a little and then we went to the bridge crossing over a little stream of water and she didn't want to cross. I was not doing it right I needed to focus on the point across and I was looking down. I didn't push her through her threshold, but we kept going away and coming back. She finally did cross and we did more up and down work. She was getting more antsy as we were going back and I wanted her to go sideways. But finally settled down again.
Here was my big mistake, knowing she was not really with me, I asked Janet to ride her at a trot and canter. I got off (Bailey now thinks that the ride is over) and then Janet gets on and ask for a trot several lengths down the arena and then into a canter, She Bucked up several strides and I could see Janet going up and the reins everywhere. Glad it was her and not me. She got her calmed down and made her do some walk and halt transitions and then into the trot and finally the canter once again. She was find. But not the usual Bailey.
Next day wasn't any better, she was antsy again and I went out to circle her and she was really being right brained and not at all with me. I had to really get her attention and finally stopped. She was not going to be a good girl so I called it a day and we then loaded and went home.
Monday and Wednesday at home, the same sweet girl I knew. Shew was just having a bad mare day. LOL
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