Tuesday 17th January

Wow! Another great riding lesson schooling in the paddock with my instructor.....Although my mare was napping like crazy I didn't feel anxious or nervous at all which made such a difference as I could actually concentrate on my riding.

We got there in the end and all walked in feeling happy and relaxed. I turned her out straight after untacking her and enjoyed watching her roll around in the mud. I wanted to give her a little something extra to thank her for listening to me so I dug up a few parsnips from the veg bed and took them out to her. She was definitely smiling at me as she scoffed them, gave me a little rub when she'd finished and then plodded off to graze.

When it was time to bring her in late afternoon she did not want to come in. Even after our shetland had gone in and she was on her own she kept walking away from me, ears pinned back, tail swishing, and when I did get anywhere near her head she kept threatening to bite! It felt pretty awaful but I managed to think calmly about the situation. I decided that if she didn't want to come in then that was fine. I was pretty sure she would change her mind once she'd been on her own for 15 mins so decided to play with the children for a bit and try again later. As I walked away from her she whinnied like mad and cantered up and down the fence line, but I decided not to look back and keep focused on my plan.

I went out 15 mins later and she did the same again. I didn't get cross with her or myself like I would normally do, I just thought 'fair enough, it doesn't matter to me whether you come in or not'.  So went and played with the children for another 15 mins.

When I went out again she was stood at the gate, and was pretty hot, so I guess she had been cantering up and down again. Anyway, this she stood still enough for me to put the headcollar on, still trying to bite though, but seemed to accept that if she wanted to come in she would have to come with me. She walked in like an angel, stopping immeditately every time I did. And she waited on her shavings before being told she could go to her food. Things felt pretty good.