Samantha Thorning with Aspen, (On Line, 60 mins) Had a nice time with Aspen yesterday. It was a beautiful, crisp afternoon - perfect for a play day! My friend Jamie brought both of her horses over from Idaho for a few hours so we could video her mare Rosie and send it off to the student who will be leasing her for the Fast Track. Check out my YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/samanthamt7 to see a short video of Rosie!

Before Jamie arrived I practiced some trailer loading with Aspen - she'll follow me in but doesn't want to load by herself or stay in if I walk out. No big deal right now, I'm ready to take the time it takes to help her feel safe and confident in there in her own time. Once Jamie arrived with her horses Aspen got SUPER hot - snorting, prancing (gorgeous!) - and it took her a while to settle down a bit and chill out. Once she did though she was very calm and easy to play with. She definitely needs more experiences like this to help develop her emotional fitness. We dabbled in the arena while Jamie got Rosie warmed up and played with some very nice figure-8's, circles, and extreme friendly game with the umbrella and the ball.

I've been reading Elsa Sinclair's blog and would invite you to stop over and check it out.

"The Project:
One Mustang directly off the range, One trainer, No tools, Just body language.

The Goal:
To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language."

http://equineclarity.wordpress.com/

She's a beautiful writer and does a magnificent job of sharing her insights with horses. I definitely feel inspired and it's given me some new ideas and perspectives of how I'd like to interact with Aspen.

Aspen ♥

Rosie

Rosie

Samantha Thorning with Aspen, (Liberty, 15 mins) Filmed some liberty today. We played with sideways, stick to me (w/t/c), and backing by the tail and hind legs. We haven't played with any of this at liberty really before the the backing by the legs/tail was only her second try ever at it (first was on-line a couple days ago). So while there is much to improve on I am SO pleased with her draw and try!! Especially since we were in the big arena and there's grass in places she can get to and eat. So proud of my little lady :) :) :) Video to follow on youtube! http://youtube.com/samanthamt7

Samantha Thorning with Aspen, (On Line, 60 mins) Had a great time playing on-line today, had some really nice circles and figure-8's and our weave at the trot is finally improving. Sideways without a fence was awesome. Used the Feather Line today and really, really love it.

Aspen did have 2 minor spooks and 1 tantrum. The first spook was set off by another horse spooking outside of the arena - got her all hot, had her tail waving around in the air and snorting. The second spook was when she was cantering on a circle and kicked a little sand at the bucket - the noise about gave her a heart attack. The tantrum was short lived and kind of funny. She was cantering on the circle and tried to come in toward me so I gently pointed out on the circle again (didn't even raise my stick) - well she tossed her head and leaped up into the air and then kicked her hind legs out... just like those white Lipizzaner stallions, landed and kept cantering like no big deal. Silly girl :) Though I don't like her leaping and bucking I do like to see her playful, engaged, and confident.