operator error

I feel so lucky to have such a great little pony! Shyloh is so patient with me; when I fumble with the bridle, when I botch a saddle removal, when I attempt to put her halter on inside out and backwards, and when I give the wrong cues, she just looks at me like let's get it right this time, okay?. But she never throws a fuss. Even when I have her all tacked up in the arena, and I get lost in conversation with someone else, Shy just stands there so calmly. Her only protest is a series of yawns (apparently, our conversation is boring to Shy) and maybe a tap or two with her front hoof to let me know that she is bored. But she is never pushy and she never tries to take off.

Braided what little forelock Shy has. . .but there is new growth coming in!

We took another trail walk today with Sandy and Forseti. We went in a different direction than than before and encountered tornado sirens, a helicopter, a motorcycle, and a truck hauling farm equipment. Shy took everything in stride. She even walked over plastic pop bottles and a two by four. She was not bothered by anything. What an amazing little horse!

Shy on the road with Sandy and Forseti

On our walk, Shy kept invading my space and walking into me. I was getting frustrated with her and kept pushing her over (thinking to myself that boundaries is what we will be concentrating on immediately). She usually respects my boundaries pretty well, so I did not know where this was coming from. After doing a self assessment of my position, how my hands were, and how I was holding the reins, I discovered it was MY fault that Shy kept walking into me! I had not realized that I was inadvertently cuing her over with the reins. As my dad always says, when stuff goes wrong, it is usually operator error. I have a feeling that I will be making a ton of operator errors with Shy, which is why I am so glad she is patient with me!

Just plodding along

Another operator error that I am battling is Shy dive bombing for grass, or clover, or leaves, or anything that appears to be slightly edible. I know that this is entirely my fault for letting her graze with her halter on and now it is something we must correct. But I did want her to graze and sometimes there was not an open pasture for her (excuses, excuses). On our walk, I actually have to pull chunks of grass out of her mouth because she stuffs in so much grass and she has difficulty eating it with a bit in there. And I discovered that she has a taste for fallen leaves, as she ate several on our walk.

Shy loves to close her eyes!

When we returned, Jaime, a boarder at the barn, helped me out. She has a beautiful Percheron, Notch, that she drives. I asked her if she had any long lines that I could borrow to work with Shy. My thought behind using long lines is that it will help me get my cues and hands correct for when I ride her. Jaime did have some long lines and a surcingle. We did not get a chance to try the surcingle on Shy today, though. But, we did try two of Notch's saddles on Shy. One was WAY too big. I mean. . .the Percheron to Haflinger ratio is rather large! The other saddle fit pretty well. Shyloh is on the petite side for a Haflinger; she is not that wide and not very long. I guess a saddle with full quarter horse bars and a rounded skirt should be the most comfortable for her. We will see. . .I am not to that point yet. 

I think a third goal might be added to my list. . .driving! It looks fun and it is rumored that Shy knows how to drive. So yet again, it will be me doing most of the learning here and making those unavoidable operator errors!

Notch in all his driving bling! Handsome boy!

Very cool!

As I am writing, I hear my husband in the other room cheering for a Detroit Tiger score. I have to throw a shout out for our Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions (5-0)!