Winnie and Spring Song, on their first ride. Photo by Ann Clifford.
Here are photos from my first ride on Spring Song on April 7, 2014. Ann Clifford took the photos and Dominique Maida (Spring Song’s owner) placed the obstacles in the arena. Spring Song and I had already played with the pole, tarp and blocks at liberty. Having specific things to do while riding her gave me and Spring Song things to focus on.
A few days ago I found an incredible video at Hannah Dawson’s YouTube channel. The video is “Snow White” with horses playing a major role in the story. The scenery, acting and clicker trained horses are top notch. It was a joy to see happy horses doing amazing things. I explored the 39 videos on her channel and came upon an interesting phrase: “coercion or connection.” I’ll be creating a sign for our arena wall with those words on it. There’s nothing like a reminder in BIG LETTERS!!! It’s so easy to get pushy when teaching something instead of taking a deep breath and pleasantly presenting a task.
Check out the video here:
