She Told Me She Needed Groundwork

It's been a tough ten days for Jessie. It rained more than an inch here and her pen refuses to dry out.  Or soil s clay like and the water puddles and does not drain. Her feed has been dry thanks to the Porta-Grazer, but she hasn't been able to lay down much. I walk in there with my muck boots on and slide all over the place. 

So, when we wanted to ride today it took quite some time to clean her up. I took a warm towel to her face and spent some extra time on her feet. It was necessary to curry the mud off of her flanks. While I got her saddled, Ranae was doing the same to Dusty. While I went in the house to change into my riding boots, Ranae did some groundwork with Dust. 

Jessie doesn't usually require any groundwork. It's one of the reasons I haven't posted here in so long. She has been doing great. Well, we're walking out the gate and she moves in front of me. I yield her hindquarters and she kinda hops around. Then, she does it again. I respond and she pops around. The third time I tell Ranae to take a minute I have to go do a bit of groundwork. 

I am glad I followed my instincts. We did lunging for respect 2 and she was bucking and rearing and tearing it up. Horses just have bad days sometimes and Jessie was having one. I am glad I wasn't on her. We worked for about 5 minutes and I could tell she was coming back to me. 

We rode out to our big field and I really got to work her. We did the lead change exercise followed by he flower power exercise. While I was a little concerned at the front end of the ride, I was glad I had a riding partner who let me do some work, and then have a good ride. I think we got some good steering work in as well. It's important to recognize the quirks in your horse and address them as soon as you can.