26^th January 2019 – Today I had my first proper ride with Bella! I first brought her in with the other horse which she is used to, however Beth had asked me to change over some rugs so it was easier this time to bring them both in, although it was a little difficult trying to close the gate when leading two horses.

When getting on I found there was an area to work on as she does like to be in one specific position in order to get on from the mounting block, which made it difficult as if she were not in this position, she would move her back end out making it difficult to get on! At first I began by walking her around on a long rein, letting her stretch and encouraging her forward. However, when then checking her girth whilst on, she began to trot. I think this may have happened from her never having had someone check the girth whilst mounted, and could have been mistaking it for a leg aid. So I began work by using a short whip and applying pressure just in front of the girth, trying to replicate me checking it. At first she did begin to trot again but she quickly learned that I wanted her to stay in walk. I did this on both sides to get her used to it, and from this I was able to check the girth fine with her remaining in walk.

When warming up I found that her canter was pretty unbalanced and felt a lot like she was rushing and wasn’t able to collect herself. There was pretty much one speed to her canter it being fast! My friend Katie was also riding with me and so we both started to push the horses  down the long side and then to collect the canter as we came into the corners to establish an elongating as well as a collected canter. At first when I pushed Bella down the long side of the arena she really went for it, so much so that when coming into the corner it was very difficult for her to slow down enough, causing the canter to feel pretty unsteady. However after a few goes I was able to collect her canter a little more and she began to understand the differences in canter paces, causing her to become a little more balanced however it still wasn’t perfect.

I then began to ask for a little contact along with giving and taking a little on the outside rein. From this she was struggling and fighting against me a little bit however her head did go down for moments every now and then. However I soon discovered that Bella is a very talented horse because she actually does not need a contact! Instead of fighting against her I decided to give her a long rein, then using a little pressure from my inside leg to push her outwards, and then a little give and take on the inside rein. With this she began to drop her head into the contact, amazingly carrying herself as there was no contact at all. It was very strange to ride with however I was able to stay balanced myself and continued to look in the direction I was going, as well as pretty much completely dropping the outside rein and not using it at all, which was rather strange as it is often used to maintain the contact with some previous horses I have ridden. This way by not focusing on the positioning of her head she began to do it naturally, really working herself hard over the back which was super rewarding, she never maintained the contact for long, however there were often moments when her head was in the perfect position, so she was certainly working hard as it is difficult for them to maintain and build up the muscle. My only note in this regard was that when she was focused on her head and bend, she then began to lose the power in her pace as well as direction, however I am confident that these are things I can work on in time.