Dee and I have had an interesting year, full of ups and downs. On one hand, I'm very pleased with what we accomplished this summer... she started over fences and the canter work improved markedly. On the other hand, I'm incredibly disappointed and feel like we've slid back quite a bit in the last few months. She's just SO incredibly herdbound and nappy at home. I kept thinking it must just be me, so I finally had Nikki come sit on her. Let's just say it's not me. I haven't actually been on her in weeks - she's just been lunging (and being fantastic on the lunge), so part of me expected Dee to behave with Nikki. I mean, if it's me, she hasn't had me up in weeks, she's just been going forward nicely on the lunge line. As soon as Nikki got on, she sucked back and got defensive, and that was without Nikki even having any real contact. The whole ride was a disaster - exactly what I've been experiencing with her lately.
The thought of getting through the winter with her behaving so poorly is not at all appealing. Upon some thought, I've decided it might be in both out best interests for her to spend some time getting drilled on the basics 6 days a week. I'm going to send her to Garry Mcallister for two months (starting the 1st of December), and hopefully he can work out the kinks. He's a world champion quarter horse trainer who I've seen make huge progress in horses with all sorts of issues. I just think that she'll think twice about trying some of her antics with a tough cowboy, and being in a solid program with someone who won't take her crap for two months is just what she needs. Garry isn't too far from me, so I'll definitely be visiting her and updating about her progress.
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