Casey A has been working and riding Poppy for some time now, and has the following to say about little Pop:
“It’s funny how with troubled horses it can sometimes feel worse before it feels better. When I started Poppy, she was pretty “stuck” and wasn’t keen on really moving out. She would walk, trot, and lope, but she was always a hair behind me, or sometimes a lot behind me. Her seeming lack of motivation could have easily been misconstrued as natural quietness, but it was evident to me that she just didn’t feel confident moving out and changing eyes.
As I’ve become more adept at freeing her feet, her shell has begun to crack, and she’s becoming more alive. She moves off when I go to saddle and cinch her up, she occasionally spooks at unexpected sounds, and will look sideways at a shadow. This could be disheartening-she used to stand still when I saddled her, and she never spooked or looked sideways, so how is this progress? Well, it’s much safer to ride a horse who feels she can MOVE, and I know that with a bit more work, she’ll become confident and less reactive.
As a matter of fact, it’s already happening. In the past, when I’ve ridden her in the arena in a clinic setting, I could feel her concern and defensiveness. Without support, she would have kicked any horse that rode up behind her because she lacked freedom in her feet. In October’s clinic, Joel rode behind us with a flag, having us change eyes (hindquarters-front quarters), and she aced it.”
