Summer update

I think Koda and I have finally figured out the bonding thing. Usually, when I go in the pasture to catch her or just to go up and scratch her, she runs away taking the other horse with her. Since Saturday, she's been standing still and letting me catch her or at least not running off to the other end of the pasture.

So the routine with Koda has been every night or at least 4 nights a week, I go out and do something with her. I wait until 7pm to do anything because it is still so hot here that it's torture before that time. As it is, we are both sweating profusely within 20 mins. We started the month with longe line work. I did that for about 2 weeks. Then one day, I finally got brave again and saddled her up. The first day I did that, I rode her with a hackamore. We got the hackamore from her previous owner when we got her. She has never accepted the reining commands I give with the hackamore and that day was no different. I had my husband hold her on longe line while I instructed her gaits (walk, trot, and stop) and directions. Later that week, I got off the longe line and rode her in the small section of the pasture. By this time I changed her to a ring snaffle bit. I eventually started riding her in the big part of that same pasture.

The big change was this past week. We went to New Braunfels Wednesday, and I rode Koda out in the open. No fence to block her in. She did great. She got a little skittish when it got dark and the other horse we were riding with disappeared. She was probably sensing some of my concern too. The other rider is an accomplished rider who started training my kid and myself before she moved. She was riding a horse they are training and it was acting silly. My concerns were that it was dark, I couldn't see the path, and she didn't know it that well either. And there was always the possibility of the horse throwing her. It was dark after all. But Koda was great, just a little nervous and everyone made it home.
The next day, we took her with us to their horse show. One of my friend's girls rode Koda most of the morning and she behaved really well, until her friend left the arena (notice a pattern here?). Then I took her on Friday evening on a trial ride where we were going to ride in the parade. I even took her to the fire station where they were getting ready. They blew their sirens. She was a perfect angel for all except the truck's backing racket ("beep, beep") but even then, she just was jittery. She listened to me and followed my instructions.

The parade was a HUGE success for us!! She was perfect. She did kick at 2 horses, but we think she did it because she is in heat. When she kicked, she did not make contact. I think it was a warning to the other horses..."I'm slightly moody right now and my boyfriend is in New Braunfels, Back Off!" We will have to watch that to see. By the way, we will be in the 4th of July parade in a nearby town.

Pictures coming soon.