84. Nappy horse to Happy horse!

I didn't know what title to use for this entry...i thought about 'Crying tears of happiness on my horses back', 'The future looks bright', 'Groundwork really does pay off' but i chose 'Nappy horse to Happy horse' because the truth is 3 months ago both myself and Spice were incredibly unhappy but thanks to someone very special who has supported and believed in us from day one i can now with 100% certainty say that we are both happy...and here's why...

Today, i finally plucked up the courage to put all my groundwork with Spice over the last 3 months to the test by deciding to ride her around the field of my yard. I began with a 2 minute warm up on the ground and she responded well so i was quite confident we were both ready...

On approaching the 'scary corner' of the field (a part of the field which for whatever reason Spice feels uneasy about) i started to re-affirm my leadership skills and direct her attention towards me by doing small sets of circles. Shortly after this she noticed a white sack and began to tense and start backing up and attempting to rear - this was my test...had i learned enough to be able to get her to go up to the object without having a fight like before?

I proved to myself i had :) I used calm, consistent cues - no force. So, whenever Spice went to turn left away from the object i used my right rein to turn her back towards the object and made sure that every single time she went the way i wanted her to go i completely took the pressure off and praised her. Within a few seconds i had her complete attention and for the first time she was looking to me for direction - asking me which way to go and with as much gentleness as i could use i was telling her. We were finally having a 'conversation' and not a 'fight'... We made it all the way up to the white plastic bag with no whipping, no shouting, no aggression, i let her move at her own pace giving her the time she needed to see for herself that it was nothing to scared of and as her reward i let her stand and be calm by rubbing her neck and behind actual tears of joy telling her how good she was. After i was sure she was no longer afraid of it I asked her to walk away from it and approach it again and without ANY hesitation whatsoever Spice walked straight up to it :) Result!

I have finally proven to myself that natural horsemanship really DOES work. It takes time, it takes effort and it takes a lot of patience but the joy i felt on Spices back today made it all worth it. I have never before felt so elated.

If i ever managed to get her past an object she was scared of before i never felt happy afterwards because i knew i'd just bullied her to go past it. There was no communication going on just bullying - she knew it and i knew it.

I feel like i finally have the relationship i've always wanted with Spice, and know that she respects me not because she is FORCED to but because she WANTS to and this is an amazing feeling.

I am so proud of myself and her for changing our future. Thankyou Spice for showing me that there is another way. :)

I will continue over the next few weeks to ride Spice around the yard setting up spooks in various places to build on our relationship and will definitely post some videos of our progress. I can't believe i didn't video our first journey out today but i think i was so pre-occupied with it going well that recording it was the last thing on my mind!