Day 2 with Kime

More bareback. Focused on riding the fast, extended trot into the canter and back down to the fast trot. Z's large and bouncy trot is much easier to ride fluidly now.

Simulations with the 45' - how to tell a left handed from a right handed 45'. Coiling it so it doesn't get twisted. I'm using a rt handed rope, so learned how to work with that and make sure I don't foul myself up working backwards. Talked a lot about safety with the 45' and avoiding an accident with loops on the ground. Tell a rt handed from left handed by holding the end with the bull snap away from you and seeing which direction the threads go.

Tina hanging out while we watched trailer loading and getting on the pedestal - she was so cute and extremely confident! I was suprised and impressed by her. We sat on a large tractor tire filled with dirt with the instructor did a trailer loading demo. Tina continued to vie for attention by loading herself onto the tire with all 4 feet! I wish I'd taken a picture. She was so cute and nuzzled me constantly. We've hit a new plateau in our relationship.

I decided to play over her back while the trailer loading went on. I bellied her, rubbed her all over, made some commotion above her... she took it all in stride and only thought to move her feet once or twice. I realize it's not me she doesn't accept, it's the saddle.

Loading to leave, Tina went to look under the panel and lost her footing. She slipped and fell in the trailer. I opened the panel quickly and she righted herself and got out. Poor girl! I let her settle down, another student did some acupuncture with the red light to relax her (worked great!) and then about 30 mins later I loaded her again. She was fine - not scared or worried. I took my time and loaded her respecting her thresholds the best I could. I quickly loaded Z so Tina was calmer quicker.

My abs were sore for a couple days after all that bareback riding! I probably rode bareback for 6 hours in the 2 days. Pretty cool! I'm excited to start jumping bareback. Z was awesome the whole time. She was relaxed and sensitive and paying attention. She was a great partner most of the time. Tina was calm and her ground work looked fantastic! We're working on a straight backup to 22' away and she's doing great.

Enjoyed my time at Nancy's immensely!