The things we are afraid of in life...

Today was a beautiful, warm day. A great day to spend outside with my horse! Miss Josie was happy to see me, and I collected her from the back paddock and brought her outside. There was a lesson going on in the outdoor, so I brought my brushes outside and set to work on her shaggy muddy coat. She really enjoyed the grooming (and fresh shoots of grass). She was in a sweet, soft mood today. I really didn't have much intention of asking her to do much tonight, but once the outdoor lesson was done, I thought we could mosey in there for a bit. All was fine, until she spotted the cows from up above on the next door farm. The same cows she looks at all day from her pen, no less! LOL!!!!! (I never say LOL, but that is just what I did!) My soft, sweet girl transformed instantly into a fire-breathing, sweat squirting hot mess! So much for not asking too much....

So we transformed into managing the situation that presented itself. She needed to move her feet, so I had her move her feet. I eventually got her attention. She then gave me some nice soft figure eights and the walk and we quit there. I think I may call Gretchen for some on line lessons. I feel like I am not always the most effective leader for her in those situations. The obvious answer is to not let her go there. It is possible that I did blow through some thresholds going into the arena in the first place, and the cows just activated the RBI blow-up. But even so, I need to learn to more effectively handle those when they happen! The good thing is that I didn't lose my temper, or my good humor, or get frustrated at all. I was happy for the opportunity to work on an interesting conundrum. And I'm sure that it won't be the last time, since those cows aren't going anywhere soon!!!!!

After we exited the arena, we went back to the grass. It didn't take her long to roll several times....a release of adrenaline. I am so happy that she can express her emotions like that. I was thinking about some of the other non PNH horses that I know that 1) wouldn't be allowed to do that, and 2) wouldn't even offer it.... An interesting thought to ponder.
Savvy on!