Firsts

Cloud has had her first solo ride and her first Trail ride. Now don't get excited, those were separate things and no I didn't ride her on the trail ride.

Let me explain.

Cloud got Sunday and Monday off. So Tuesday we started off just as we have been to follow through on our seven days of a pattern. Her join up was just as quick as day 3, all of her other games were just as wonderful, and she seemed really happy to be in the round pen and playing with me. I introduced the basics of the on-line circling game today. The join up has that element of circling the round pen, the difference is that the circling game teaches them responsibility through maintaining the job once asked. So I send her out and myself go neutral vs push in the join up. As most do, she stopped often to ask what she was supposed to be doing. I just resent her and right now I only am looking for perhaps one lap. That was accomplished in only several tries, very quick!

With somewhat of that game established, I thought I would try her with a flank rope. This is when you put the rope around her barrel and back through itself to form a loop around her. It lays around her barrel just behind where the saddle would sit, perhaps where the back cinch on a western saddle would be. The idea is to 1) desensitize them in this zone and 2) to use the flank rope as your go and wow button, as in your leg. This can be quite a rodeo, however, Cloud didn't hardly bat an eye and was going forward and stopping with it like she has worn one for years. Both sides tested, both passed. I will keep this lesson going to a bit to get it even more sensitive, but I was really please with her acceptance.

So I put on the bareback pad and stepped up on the mounting log, and with very little ask, she stepped right up to pick me up! So now starts the lesson of what go and whoa mean from the rider up there. Our first ride really was with a helper and that is nice, but I don't always have the luxury of a helper. So to teach her what we mean I started with our goal of energy up, followed by gentle squeeze, if that doesn't work, a bit of a smooch, and then add some energy with the end of our rope on myself. It took most of that for the first step, we got one! Yeah, we got two! and soon three and we actually finished the day with full lap of the round pen with barely a squeeze!!! Lots of scratches and hugs, and she didn't even break a sweat!

I thought I would end this day with some hang out time eating grass on the lawn. Well, that was my idea, but not Cloud's. There was too much to see out in the big world for grass eating. So I just followed her where she wanted to go, which was down the driveway, out to the street (at which point I suggested we head back), all around the front field, back to the barn and in and out of the stalls, back to the front field, you get the picture, she was looking at it ALL! Very curious, not really in a rush, but walking without hesitation! I finally ended in the barn with a bit of treat for her. 10 minutes later, she was having quite the nap in front of Tresa's stall!

So on to Wednesday and her first Trail ride. I ponied her off of Shaea. They were much better together today than our first day. Shaea still had her opinion of the situation, however, she was much better with someplace to go. That was up the street, with the dogs, to the woods (Shaea thought she was going to her grassy eating place, sorry honey...) I played Cloud's basic games with her before we started. Although we didn't start with our join up game today. We played some touch it, which she loves to do with her feet, so it was a little challenge for her to slow down and try touching it with her nose (that is what ever I was asking her to touch.) She was excited as we were up in the front field, new spot and all, but all it all she was listening and responding. Repeated the circling game and this only being day 2, TDS hadn't kicked in yet, and it took a few tries, but she did remember and we got a very calm lap and finished with that.

Cloud was very good on the rope right from the start. As soon as we got onto the road and headed up a set of bicyclers came down the road, I wasn't sure what she would do so we stopped to watch them and all was just fine. As a matter of fact it was all just fine, there wasn't a moment that she hesitated. Well except when she got kind of caught on a blackberry vine across her face! Shaea went wide, but Cloud tried to duck under and it caught on her rope and stuck. She just stopped and we came back to the rescue. We went up and down and around. We stopped to see if they wanted a drink out of a good sized puddle and they both lapped it a bit, then...Cloud proceed to empty the puddle with huge pawing and playing mud flying everywhere! I didn't stop her, although I was prepared to prevent her from dropping and rolling in it, not a great thing to teach her...

This trail has some good size hills, perhaps more hill than she has ever done and she was getting a bit tired on our walk home. She had to trot to keep up with Shaea's homeward bound walk, which I did ask her to slow down, but still Cloud had to keep up the pace. And speaking of which, it almost looked like she was doing a running walk at certain points, we will have to investigate that! A gaited Appaloosa! Funny thing was that we met the same bicyclers on the way down! They were working much harder than us!

A great first trail for her, she is such a natural! She will get tomorrow off, more play on Friday!