Dixie was amazing today!

I've been slowly realizing over the past week or so that maybe I'm in their mouths too much. I blame this completely on ARF, they had me ride their horses with a very tight hold to "lift" them up and there was really never a time in my lessons where they had me rely totally on my legs and seat, we were always doing something with the reins.

So today I tried my hardest to teach myself to have very loose reins and to be sure to not over-cue Dixie for turning and other maneveurs. I let the reins loose and held the middle with one hand while Dixie went around the arena. If she went off of the rail, I would slowly and easily guide her back. I made sure to not make a big deal about it and to simply suggest a better option. Saying that makes me think of the saying, "You tell a gelding, you ask a mare, and you discuss it with a stallion." I also made sure to be very light if I did have to make contact and use my legs and seat to guide her more. I never realized how well she worked off of my legs. I always knew that she was fairly sensitive as in she didn't need much to get her going but I never thought she would work off my legs so well...she has the ability to completely ignore my leg if I'm trying to move her over. She never showed me that she could work well from my legs. I also realized that she somewhat neck reins or at least enough for me to guide her fairly easily in the arena. That's enough for me right now!

I was so proud of her today! I was amazed by my Dixie girl, she was a different horse. She cantered nicely when we were...well, it was fast and she did shoulder out slightly but it was so much better than the other times! She felt actually controlled, balanced, and consistent!

The only bad thing about today was that she was a bitch on the trail, she didn't want to slow down at all and became very prissy whenever she had contact on her mouth no matter how light it was. She would flip her head and swish her tail. I'm thinking that she just needs time to become more confident just with me and not be so dependent on the other horses and staying with them. She just needs to relax. I'm not faulting her for this at all, she only needs some time. Luckily, I can give her that.

I am going to bring my camera on Wednesday for my lesson and I plan to ride Dixie afterwards so maybe I can get some pictures or videos.