I've been making a hearty effort lately to get in better physical condition, so tonight I had a few hours of dedicated horse time and I took Z on the trail. She was tacked with the rope hack and the bareback pad. I brought the stick and string and off we went. I ran for some of it and played with asking her to stay in the specific spot I wanted her. I asked her to perform the falling leaf a bunch and empasized proper and effecient use of my rope and stick (from the last lessons with Dennis). She's definitely getting soft and I've been making a very focused effort to suggest she always keep some float in the rope. I've upped this game to a place we've never gone and at times she is really doing her part. Other times, she gets her own idea about things and we have a harder time.
I rode her bareback some, but not much. I also asked for vertical collection while moving up and down the hills. I spent most of my time on the ground, though. I worked up a good sweat and played with our foundational ground skills.
I also played around with Karen R's ground techniques for teaching a horse to be more balanced. Interesting... Not sure I'm doing it right. :-)
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