Pixie had been out of her pasture for a couple of months and was in the very infant stages of groundwork. I was trying to get her to walk through a sandbox (see picture below) and she was having none of it. Rather than politely walking through the sandbox, like I was asking for, she jumped the box and kicked out as she landed... and I was in her way.
Yep, this is the very sandbox where our love was tested last fall (that's Miss Paulette in the picture):
As you can see, she's still not too sure. But this was Saturday, December 5 so she had four good days of "official" training under her belt.
She walked right through! It was something else.
She even stood in the box. This is huge for her!
Horses are prey animals, so they are always on the look out for the big, bad wolf. They are very observant and become nervous in new situations. They are also pack animals, so they need a strong leader to trust. In the wild there is a boss mare or lead stallion. In riding and groundwork scenarios, YOU want to be the leader. So Paulette and Ted are training Pixie to trust humans and become less skittish of her surroundings. Eventually, they will move to saddle work and start riding her. I will take lessons with them and Pixie throughout the entire process, which should last three months. I am so excited at the thought of riding her in March!
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