Sue.

    My hopes and dreams for our humble farm included a horse. Through fate we were delivered Sue: a nine year old registered paint mare who was given to us by a wonderful and kind owner who thoughtfully decided she was "too much horse" for her eleven year old daughter. Sue is very well bred. She also has exquisite ground manners. When haltered (especially with a rope halter) she is watchful, careful of your space and basically on alert for any command. She is trustworthy around Stella and the dogs and now in love with Bacchus. We couldn't ask for a more perfect little mare. Nobody has been on her in our family and we know very little about her history. 

    Yesterday, I broke out my brand-new bargain English bridle and loose ring snaffle bit (basically a training bit). She was hesitant, but accepted the bit. I fastened a lunge line around her head attached to the bit and headed out to pasture for a little "training". She was practically running over me on the way out. She was tense and unhappy. Out in the field, she definitely did her best with the uneven and unpredictable footing but wasn't at her best. Not ideal. What happened to the responsive and light mare in the rope halter? On line, she stopped several times at the trot and just faced me. When I asked her to move on at one point, she flew backwards about twenty feet resulting in a nasty rope burn (I didn't let go). She nostrils flaring, eyes wild and mouth open. Sucky :( 

   So I've re-evaluated my goals and hung up the English bridle and bit for now. Today I used the rope halter and took my time with a long grooming session having no expectations. My goals are for every interaction to build a trusting relationship working toward some light dressage and trail riding. But mostly just to go slowly and to be consistent. And of course to have fun with and enjoy her. I'm really after an arena where we can work on ground work off line. I'm ordering a rope hackamore and finishing watching this cool documentary.