Gia - session 12 - more bumpers and more clipping

I worked with Gia today on all the same things as last time.  I did reintroduce flyspray today.  She was slightly fidgety at first, but quickly remembered that it was no big deal.  Getting flyspray on her used to be a big deal though!  She used to be very anxious whenever she was sprayed.  For most horses, it's the combination of the sound the sprayer makes, as well as the feel of the spray when it touches them.  It just requires a lot of desensitization, and I typically use a spray bottle full of water so that I don't waste all my flyspray.  She went through all that last year, and luckily, it stuck with her for this year! 

Gia and the boat bumpers.

She was perfectly still for the saddle pad and the saddle today.  She was slightly fidgety for girthing, but not as bad as last time.  I did do the final tightening in the grass again, and she could have cared less.  Once in the round pen, I attached the boat bumpers to the front, middle and back of the saddle, and sent her to work around the circle each time.  She was completely unfazed by all of it today!  I would like to do this one more time before moving on, but I think the next time will go very similarly.

Back in the crossties, I again worked on clipping her while someone else held her so she could eat some grain.  She was still a bit nervous about it, but stood much more still today, and allowed me to finish clipping her front legs, and get about half way through both back legs.  That was a good step in the right direction there!

By the way, she also got a good report from the farrier the other day!  They said she was perfect for them!  This is a pretty big deal for her.  She used to be so bad for the farrier, that I actually sent her to him for a couple of weeks at his place where he worked with her very intensely on her behavior while having her feet trimmed.  She was much better when she came home, but this is definitely the best she has ever been for him!