Tina was much less sensitive! Hallelujah! I was able to brush her w/o her flinching and I could touch her flank w/o causing her to jump. Why was today different? There was much less wind, definitely. Otherwise, I don't know. Her cycle is over perhaps? I really think it's the wind, however. She's overstimulated by everything moving and wiggling all around her.
I spent a little time warming her up on the ground and then took her into the round pen for mounting. The other day when I tried to mount her she flinched and jumped sideways. It was windy and she was overstimulated before we ever started. I wanted to see what we'd get today. Surprisingly, she was fine! She let me mount and she stood fairly still. I wiggled around and made a ruckous while I mounted to help build up her tolerance to this sort of behavior. I mounted from both sides repeatedly until she was soft, blinking, flexing toward me easily. I decided to not ride beyond being on her back. I decided to stop here and rebuild her to where she was before. I will start asking her for forward movement on the next session again - walk and trot. I need some calm days where the wind isn't blowing at 25 mph, too. I may start hauling her to my friends indoor so wind is not a factor. She is also proving to be quite a jumper! She could probably clear 3.5 ft from a halt with ease. She's clearing 2.5ft from the halt with at least 18" to spare. At least...
Z was amazing on the trail. I'm enjoying her immensely. Kendall and I rode for about 5 miles at a steady trot with some cantering in spots. Kendall is doing great with Rain. They are going nicely and KK is getting more brave all the time. Z and I practice our bridleless riding on the trail and she's getting better and better. We finished up with a gallop up the hill on our way back. Z was pulling and climbing and KK was giggling and having a blast. A fun ride!
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