I'd love to share a major breakthrough with my mare, Katie, yesterday. I've had her 3 years and while we've had some rocky moments, we've also had some good times. Last year I asked my friend to coach us and we made some marvelous improvements in my horsemanship. We went from trail riding and cattle driving to working equitation and arena work and had a blast. However, things went downhill this fall to the point of her not even wanting the saddle.

Things deteriorated over the winter and after I ruled out physical ailments, I just let her be (which is easy during a South Dakota winter). When I'd get near her she'd pin her ears and threaten to bite. This stumped me and my friend.

Then I found Josh Nichols. I studied all his content here on NF+ and it became clear to me that Katie and I had a relationship issue. And, she's clearly a strong space horse (think Lily x 2!). So I set out on a new path of intention, presence, and confidence. I tried everything but made no progress. In fact her responses got more violent.

Feeling like I had just about run out of options and had nothing more to lose, yesterday I approached Katie with the mindset of being big, bold, and full of myself. I put a halter on her, took her to the round pen, and had a conversation with her. I held my ground and with plenty of volume and confidence I told her that I was trying my best but I have boundaries too and that we need to find balance in our relationship. I said she's amazing and I'm amazing and I love her.

Can you believe that within seconds she yawned several times and then licked and chewed?? I just about cried. I removed her halter and she simply stood with me, oh so relaxed. I can't help but wonder if she was thinking, "It's about time..."

Thank-you, Josh. You're amazing too.

So I was doing some work with my mare on the lunge line today.. shebwas not happy, was reactive, and just saying "no". I thought "hmmm... she isn't typically like this during groundwork or lunge line stuff, maybe I should take it off ". ..
Now, part of me was struggling with this because she was being "naughty" (I rarely use that term... but there was a whole lot of "no ma'am " happening today), and if I took it off, was I allowing her to get away with this not-so-great behavior?? Well, I trusted my gut, and took her rope halter and line off. Initially she was just walking around sniffing, only paying attention to me about 10% of the time. I let her sniff then asked her to move forward.
To my very pleasant surprise, my mare did a lovely trot and canter circle around me, even kept it about a perfect 20m circle. She listened to my voice cues, my body language. It was awesome!!!! Maybe she was annoyed i wasnt "trusting" her and today needed to be the day I let her work at liberty!!! It was so lovely!!
I finished our time off by putting her back on the lead line and asking her to trot over some ground poles. This time, she was soft, nice and forward, stretching forward and down. I wanted her to finish on the lunge line in a positive light, and she totally did.
Today was a huge win for us. My mare is definitely showing me that I can trust her and ask her for more than I have realized!

I’m really enjoying the Dear Horse World episodes. The ones with Josh Nichols, Tik Maynard and Mark Rashid are all so good. So many good nuggets of information. I already feel more connection to my mare just by slowing down and being mindful of every move I make. It’s so amazing. Grateful that we have access to such brilliant minds.

BIG day yesterday for Lady!

Lady got A2M & amniotic fluid injections with Dr Alberto Rulan at Equine Performace Center in Ocala FL yesterday. We injected her lumbar and cervical spine (where we found bone spurs from past trauma). She also got injections in her left eye, where Uveitus has flared up two times since I got her (common in Appaloosa’s). They use an ultrasound to locate the inflammation and then inject the Alpha and Rovolo directly into the inflamed area. This is our physio protocol for the next 3 weeks and then she gets a follow up round. This cost roughly $2500 USD (not cheap). The goal is annual maintenance for 12 months and a if it’s effective, it’s a better alternative to steroids.

20 mins Physio every day;
1\. Raised walk Poles
2\. Crunches
3\. Full lateral Neck stretches
4\. Lots of stretching lateral stretching