Slowing it down with Tina

The last ride I felt a slight amount of resistance building. I want Tina feeling for my body and suggestions from my seat. If I feel her getting confused and not positively responding, it means 1 thing to me: she doesn't quite understand. So, today I focused on soft feel in the bend, being "straight on the circle" and moving forward with a soft suggestion from my seat. She did a lot of blowing and I only once (early in the ride) felt opposition.

Sometimes the right thing is to take a small step back and make sure all the holes are filled in before moving on.

I was very happy to see that as the herd left the barn and headed out to the west pasture, the opposite side of my 35 acres, Tina looked but never felt an ounce of concern. She was happy to be with me, her rider and didn't feel pulled by the herd. What a testament to state of mind!

As I put her back in the pasture, with the horses still on the other side of the property, she chose to stay with me instead of leaving to be with the herd. This is such a special horse who will bond tightly with her human. Nanni - you have such a treasure here! :-)

It was a nice, cool night with a very relaxing, foundational session with this amazing animal. I love this work.