Update from Allison:
I rode Annie again yesterday and she was good. She is still a handful on the ground but resonds very well to verbal corrections.
She continues to go well under-saddle, tho she still needs work in the canter. She has a tendancy to cross-canter but that should go away with fitness and balance. Annie steers mostly off weight, she is very soft in the bridle and moves forward off the leg easily. I do like her and wish I could ride her more because she does need it and I know she will only get better with more consistency.
She is a special girl but definitely not for a novice or timid rider/handler. She has always been a handful on the ground, as of late it is more TB-ADD type behavior; not standing still, wanting to chew on the cross-ties, shaking her head around, things like that.
She is a bit of a bully. She will test you to see what she will get away with. When she first came to SAFE, she had fear-agression issues. When she got intimidated or scared of something she would lash out at it by biting or rearing. Early on she learned that she could intimidate her handler by biting and rearing, so when you first meet her she will do those things to test you out. I had handled her a few times before she did it to me, but she has done it right off the bat with new people too. I don’t know why she does it, just her personality I guess. When she starts getting nippy I growl at her and she quits. Some days are worse than others though. *shrugs*
