Finally!

I finally got a real ride on Jetta. When I acquired her six weeks ago, she was thin, sick, and had a horrible case of girth itch. I spent a month doctoring her, trimming her over-grown feet, getting the equine dentist out, getting her to the chiropractor, etc. Then I had a trainer ride her a few times to see what kind of horse I really had! The trainer rode her five times, one of those rides was a trail ride. But now, now finally, I am ready to carry on with her training.

We trailered down to our county fairgrounds. The entire place is chock full of horse trailers due to a big high school rodeo competition. I knew they had the whole fairgrounds reserved for this event, but no one was in the freshly groomed indoor arena. Knowing it would be a terrible shame to have all that nice soft dirt going to waste, I turned Jetta and Keno loose to run. Jetta was a little unsure of herself at first; she's only been in the indoor once before. They ran and bucked and played for a while, then I saddled both horses. Jetta stood quietly tied at the rail, while I rode Keno for a few minutes. (No fidgeting or pawing in sight!) (See the grin on my face?) Then it was her turn.

We spent almost 45 minutes working at the walk. The trainer got her started with giving and softening to the bit, but Jetta's got a long way to go to solidify the concept. That's what we worked on the whole time. Lots of circles and figure eights. I tried to stay really relaxed and soft on her back and really give her a release when she softened nicely. She isn't really supple, but eventually she will be. She was a very good girl and we had a few nice moments. She seems responsive and sensitive. I didn't really feel like I had any brakes to speak of, but when we got a few really nice halts, I praised her and made a big deal of it. I know it's going to take time to educate her, but I am excited because I love her temperament and personality. She's going to a fun project!