The last couple of days, Ruby and I have been doing short training rides in the arena, working through the kicking out issue. As of yesterday morning, we had zero attitude when asked to move out. And, my brain finally kicked in on how to get Ruby to actually pick up her feet when trotting over poles. She picks them up fine when longing but tends to kick them around when I'm riding. Because she picks up her feet to avoid rocks and sticks on the trail, I believe this is a lazy thing. I lined up two of the heavier poles and laid them beside each other to make them wide and harder to kick and voila - she actually trots over them now.
Last night, Heather and I took our girls to an obstacle course practice. Angela brought her palomino TWH gelding, Sparky. The practice was from 3-7 pm - we arrived at 6:15. Everyone else had already packed up and left, so we got to try the obstacles without a lot of extra distraction. We were told that this was the 'tame' version - holy hell. It was like an equine house of horrors. Their balloon obstacle was horsey terror-in-a-can. Their balloon was one of these. Btw, the fact that the very center of the 'eye' was reflective apparently made it even more horrible. Attached to the balloon, there were streamers and blowing sheets. Eventually, Ruby was brave enough to sniff but even when the other horses were lifting the lid and she knew it wasn't going to eat her, she couldn't help but startle a little. They had a tarp that changed color three times while going through a ditch. Ruby nearly jumped this one, lol. She bunched up but at the last minute decided to walk through calmly. Backing through the L was ugly, but this is my fault because I don't consistently require straight backing. They had a deep pit full of empty plastic bottles and pool noodle pieces - after sniffing, she had no issue with this obstacle. We went through closely spaced, painted tires on the ground with pool floaties hanging from the trees. The only obstacle that she refused was a small kiddie pool with a tire in it. There were old leaves in the pool and a barrel on either side. It looked difficult to step through and I don't think she was feeling confident enough to jump in the near-dark. She started kicking out when pushed, so I smacked her on the butt. I don't mind her saying she can't (actually, I can't remember another time ever when she has said she can't) but I didn't appreciate the attitude thrown in either. She didn't kick out again. I asked again, she told me that she couldn't politely, so we went on to something else. I was worried about the mattresses but she had no problem. The last thing we tried was a tiny teeter-totter. It couldn't have been more than 18 inches wide. Ruby would put one foot on it but I think she was mostly having an issue with it being so small. By the time we headed back to the trailer, the sun had fully set. Ruby had a small freak-out in the trailer when she couldn't see Candy - crazy mare. All in all, we had a great time. It was a good experience for both of us. Looking forward to the real thing!
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