What Happens Before What Happens, Happens!!

Went to a friends house today to play and had a ball. We warmed up online playing with all 7 games with different obstacles: log stumps, a tarp suspended between two trees and blowing in the wind, the arena fence and the driveway, and my friends trailer.

After we warmed up online, we played versions of the same games but freestyle. We did walk and trot in both directions, also peppered in some direct and indirect rein and a bit of yo-yo for upward and downward transitions. America prefers to go to the right so when we went to the left, she kept wanting to turn back to the right. I just slowed everything down and had polite "conversations" with her using the reins until she went left then I left her alone. Eventually she OFFERED to go to the left at both the walk and the trot!!

I tried a few 9-step backups and on the third try, America backed up when I sat in my seat and thought about back...didn't have to pick up the reins at all. She really figured out quickly "what happens before what happens, happens". The back up was really nice and soft too!!

My friend and her horse joined us in the arena after our walk/trot sessions and we played with a couple of patterns and the yo-yo...it was fun and America caught on to the patterns really quickly. She wickedly smart!

We played with trailer loading in my friends trailer; it's very different from my open stock trailer, more closed in so more of a squeeze game. I did alot of approach and retreat and after a few minutes, America loaded herself in the trailer and was confident enough to get a bit of hay from the hay net and she stayed in the trailer for several minutes just relaxing in there. Up to that point she had been a bit worried and when she put her hind feet in, I could see them shaking...poor girl was nervous. By backing her out and sending her back in, she gained her confidence enough to go all the way in and then stay in.

It was a really fun day but we had to call it quits as the rain started to move in and was coming down harder. I loaded America in my trailer and put up all my equipment and headed home marveling at all the gifts my horse had given me throughout our play.