Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

As I've said in previous posts I have a huge issue with consistency. Finally I am making some progress with this and it is amazing how just that one thing is helping my progress with Katai.

Yesterday I worked on trailer loading since I was giving her another day off to help with her foot tenderness. Luckily she is feeling way better now that we've had a couple of dry days in a row.

Trailer loading yesterday went excellent! She hopped right on with all four feet and and continued to load calmly even after several time off and on and an increase in pressure. Now in a few more days I'll work on that again.

Today I rode!!! She was excellent and is really starting to get the idea of forward. It was a very short ride because this is the first time I've ridden her in this heat and she was still just slightly sensitive on the rocks in the arena. I'm hoping that the next time I ride she will be even more comfortable and I know she'll be used to the new summer heat that's FINALLY arrived.

Now I just have to get more consistent with remembering to take pictures.....

Photo Dump Friday

Katai has been doing really well mostly but her feet are ouchy so I didn't ride yesterday and won't be today either. She's not lame at all but I'm used to her gait to the point where I can tell that she is a little off.

The good news is that I now trust her well enough to let her out in the huge pasture with the four Thoroughbreds. It is so nice to see her out like that and able to interact with the others. It was always my goal to get her out with them but these four have a record of being pretty rough on new arrivals and they are 16 hands and over so I just didn't want to risk it.

Also, she was spooky enough, and naughty enough, when I got her that there was no way I was going to risk letting her out there and not being able to catch her.

Luckily after the winter and spring of letting them meet across the fence but keeping them separated they were totally disinterested when I put them together. Also with the extra handling she's been extremely easy to catch. Of course treats help :)

I think she looks like she's an excellent weight in these pictures. She is just such a cutie. I adore this pony!!

June Goals

This is a bit late but it's time to start setting some goals so here we go :)

1. Make progress with fly spray
- I'm hoping to at least get to the point where she's not terrified.

2. Finish up trailer loading
- I'd like to get to the point where I can tie her, close the divider and the doors and just let her sit for a couple if minutes.

3. Consistently able to pick up back feet
- She is pretty good with the fronts but we still struggle with the back ones.

4. (Riding) Get a consistent forward reaction to leg cues.

5. (Riding) Ride every day possible until the end of June even if its just for a few minutes.

So there we go! Hopefully those are simple achievable goals that aren't too easy.

Lack of updates, Lack of time

Lately things have been crazy in my life. Good, but crazy :-)

The relationship I was in, if you want to call it that, fell apart which ended up being a good thing because I met someone really nice who actually wants to spend time with me. I've been seeing him a few times a week and since he lives an hour away that means leaving right after work. I am extremely happy though about the whole thing and don't regret a single second I spend with him.

Despite the lack of time Katai has been doing extremely well. I've made a ton of progress with loading her in the trailer and she will walk right on with all four feet. It still needs some work but we are well on our way.

I've also made progress with riding although not as much as I wanted. I've been following the same idea that's been working with teaching her everything else and carrying the dressage whip. She does extremely well when you clearly define boundaries and the whip is helpful with doing that even though I rarely even touch her with it.

We have been struggling with fly spray though. I've fought with all the ponies I've owned about fly spray. For some reason they ALL have been completely terrified and/or obstinate about putting up with that.

I did find out that my trainer is planning on getting a whole bunch of her students to a schooling show on August 10th and I plan on having Katai ready to at least attend even if she isn't ready to actually show.