A matter of trust.

Ok, so I take back what I said about Anky trusting me.
She trusts Corky.
Yesterday, having no-one to ride with I thought I'd ride Anky out alone.......... short story, she was totally freaked. After going 100 yards up the lane, she absolutely refused to go. I was tired and not in the right frame of mind to tackle her, so after managing to get her to stand and calm a little, we came home.

In the afternoon, I did a little in-hand work with her, and also some handling/leading work.


Today I rode out with Jim on Corky. Anky started off very reluctant, she's usually quite happy to head off in front when riding out in company, but not today. She was stopping, starting, looking, trying to turn. Jim was keeping Corky way behind and so Anky had to take the lead.

I was quite tired today, but very calm and relaxed. I sat quietly, I asked her to walk on, it wasn't my intention to make her go at all cost, I wanted her to choose to go at my request. I asked, she had to make the choice to go. Does that make sense? I think so. It was a strange ride, it took us quite a while longer to complete, she was more reluctant than she's ever been, but the farther we went, the more I got a real sense of communication. I felt like in no way was it me against the horse, but me and the horse against all the unknown and frightening things out there. Heehee, sounds corny. Anyway, I feel like we achieved something today, we'll see how she is tomorrow.......