April 2016

Man have these past few weeks have been busy! I have been working hard with Athena. I will get ya’ll up to speed!

Athena slicked out and got herself a new pair of splint boots for all her round pen work! It was her first pair so when she started to walk in them, she lifted her front legs high like a Tennessee Walking Horse! She is always making me laugh!

We continued to work on her ground manners. Her rope halter was so handy teaching her to walk in her own space and not on top of me. We went for long walks to get her used to the barn. We also were getting ready for our own photoshoot and wanted her to be comfortable in different environments!

It had been a month at the new barn and she was already looking SO much better! We continued our weekly/bi-weekly lessons and worked her in the round pen. Finally she was ready for the saddle!

She did SO good with the saddle! She got a little hoppy in the beginning but quickly settled down.

She looks so good under tack! <3

We spent a lot of time together, whether it was looking for fresh green patches of grass, long walks, long grooming sessions. We took things nice and slow. I learned a lot about Athena, like how she LOVES to cuddle, play with my hat, and stay close to me while she is grazing.

April brought a lot of firsts for Athena. She got her first experience in the wash bay (which left me SOAKED the first few times). She was pretty scared of the water, but now she stands like a lady without even being tied for her baths.

April was a slow but steady month with her training. I was content on moving forward when Athena was ready. We worked on stuff normal horses do, such as walking through gates, bathing, picking up feet, standing for clipping, being polite when taking the halter on and off.

Athena was finally learning to relax and just be a normal horse. <3