Going for a Drive

On this warm, windy and sunny evening, Starlight and I went for a drive up and down the lane -- a ground drive, that is.  

 I  play caboose behind Starlight's comely butt.

I have trained a few horses to be ridden, and have hit the ground a few times.  Because of this, I'm always looking to improve my training methods so that the liklihood of my hitting the ground is decreased.  The ground is very hard,  you know?

With Starlight and DeCato, I incorporated a lot of ground driving in their training before getting on.  I can't say for sure, but I believe it is the main change I made that resulted in much more calm and compliant horses when I got on them last fall.

Starlight showed me tonight that she remembers how to ground drive like a champ.  This is a good sign, because I'm thinking she may also remember how to be ridden like a champ, once I get on her again.

After I put her back, I brought Dee out and longed her a bit with the saddle and bridle on, and then she and I took a long walk together around the outside of our 10 acre pasture.   Those who read my last post about Dee may be wondering if this was the walk when she decided to try her flying-kick trick again, and, I'm happy to say, no.  She was a very good girl, and I'm encouraged.  She will learn to ground drive, next.

A fun night with the spotted ponies!