The week started off well with lots of positive changes for clients.
I worked with a client who I have been helping for some while. We are helping her little horse change the way he thinks about being ridden. His previous life consisted of anxiety, tension and discomfort. Slowly, we are retraining him to make decisions calmly and through relaxation.
A number of horses this week benefited from a simple groundwork exercise helping them to bend their ribs on a circle, while not leaning on the line. It's amazing how many horses pull away or lean on a lunge line. This just teaches them to have poor biomechanics and to choose somewhere other than the handler to connect to. The bending exercise means the horse has to find a healthier solution. Often when the find this more comfortable way of moving, they then choose the stretch down as well, giving additional benefits of rhythm and relaxation.
Towards the end of the week, things started to go a bit sideways as the tempertaures meant all of the arenas became frozen. Obviously, it's very difficult to continue in these conditions, aside from the safety issues that such surfaces present. This gave me some extra time to make some planes for the coming year, which I hope to finalise soon.