As was standard with the Graham horses we started (or re-started) under saddle, Addie had some issue when asked to go forwards. As is the case, the things that reveal themselves on the ground also appear under saddle and vice versa. It was clear that Addie was tremendously stuck – even when asked to go forward on the ground she felt that she could not move her feet, which manifested in her moving in another way: up. But we were confident once we showed Addie she had options, that she could go forward and find freedom in the space around her, the rearing would stop.
It did not manifest the same way on her back, but there her attitude emerged, a general unwillingness to move out. Like the other Graham horses, it was clear that Addie had been able to play the role of the leader quite often when it came to her riders, and say “no thanks!” quite a bit. When we hung in there and said, ‘no really, you do have to do this’ she was far from happy.
Working on freeing her up going forward has done wonders for her range of motion. It’s clear that once she feels like she can move, she is a lot happier. Her expression is better when her feet feel free, and she just looks overall more let down and relaxed.
We continue to help Addie find freedom in her movements, and in a few weeks she will join our good friend Dylan for some off-site training. Then, she will be ready to start meeting adopters!
