Chicka Feb 28

Had a little trouble catching Chicka today, I think she wasn't too happy the past few sessions having to come out and work alone, particularly as a RBE! At first she walked off as I approached the herd and went to stand with her friend, but as I ignored her, she actually came trotting up to me! I fed her a treat and rubbed her all over before trying to halter her, and she promptly took off. So, I waited a few minutes before trudging up to her for another shot. She was happy getting treats but not being caught! Finally I did get her haltered though (not before my toes froze off though haha) and we walked off...she was pretty hesitant leaving her buddies (there's that herdbound RBE kicking in...) but did come with me (...slooooowly...) to the arena. Friendly game was pretty good, especially for an RBE all alone in the arena. Porcupine was Phase 2 though she did test me a bit at first by trying to walk off - right away though we got a 360 degree pivot on the hind though. Yo-Yo was great, as was her Driving game (no stick) and also her Circling game at the jog (did a little spiralling in and out). Sideways was better (several steps in either direction) and her Figure-8 and Weave patterns were really well done with little direction. I didn't hop up today (did not have my saddle yet, as it was in my car that was in the shop); she seemed pretty calm but I didn't want to push it with a herdbound RBE in an empty arena. Hopefully I get a little additional time in with her tomorrow to throw the saddle on, but on the other hand I feel she'll progress real fast once we've established more trust in my leadership with her...plus she's made quite a bit of progress even under-saddle already. I also found another form of the Friendly game to play with her...today I tried wrapping her up in ropes to have her work through "untangling" herself through following the feel of the rope, solving the puzzle. I always start out small with a horse though, first just by walking to the other side and having the horse do one turn. As I passed around her hind with the rope though she spooked violently...she's pretty RB with anything around her bum, actually. That gave me an idea though, to use my lariat to play the Friendly game with her around her hind, which will really help I think with a lot of our trust issues. Next session!! We'll see how it goes... :D