Rode Brandi on Friday since everyone else was getting their feet done (even Rhapsody! For probably the first time in 4-6 months! Woo!). Rode Western since my English saddle seemed to be getting to her and she was really really good. I continue to be just blown away by how self-controlled she is. For the first while I worked with her on mounting manners, since she's probably never been trained to stand for mounting and therefore has no manners whatsoever. It actually worked best to hold the reins on the buckle and get on from the mounting block--what do you know? I was happy though--if she can learn to stand still on a loose rein now, all the better!
So after a little bit she stood perfectly calm for me to get on and sit there for a few minutes. Then I asked her to move off and we did some lovely walk/trot work. She is still very sensitive to my seat aids, though she probably has no training in that area, and was calm and sensible even when there were kids playing on a nearby gravel pile. She did get a bit fast and call to her buddies as they were being led out to the pasture, but got happier when a couple of the geldings came to join us for a lesson. Also she was doing some absolutely fantastic stretching and reaching down to the bit at walk and trot, and popped carefully but smoothly over a ground pole on the diagonal. And all this from a 2-3 year old filly! I am super impressed! If I were in the market for a horse of my own right now, I'd be hard pressed not to pick her up!
Her canter is coming along. With the beginner lesson going on, I wasn't able to get a sustained canter from her, but she picked it up reasonably quickly when I asked, both directions. Wrong lead both times, but that will improve as she gets more comfortable. I am happy that her canter wasn't a flat-out gallopy thing, as Rhapsody's and Fringe's can be! I'm sure it helps that she didn't spend much time training on the track, and never raced.
She sounds like such a sweetie.
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