Honey Bun Day 4,5

With all my grandkids here last night I didn't get a chance to post the blog from yesterday so here it is.
Day 4, Friday 8/21/15
Rd. Pen- did some downward pressure exercises. She did fine with those. She maintained consistent gaits and her turns were markedly improved, no hesitation. I allowed her to stop and rest and follow me. I had to go through a couple cycles of that before she started to hook on quicker. When I stop her I want her to immediately follow through as if she were changing directions and instead step forward and follow me.
YH- was real good.
Backups were good in all of them.
YF- Still could not get a couple good steps each way. She needs a lot of work on them.
Flexing was excellent.
LR1- This was real good too. She actually did good enough to achieve LR2 status which is that I only have to look at her Hindquarters and she yields it and gives me two eyes.
Circling was much improved in that she was bent more on the right side than before. She is improving over all on the right side. The Right was her bad side.
Sending needs more work. She gets real excited, I was able to calm her down by not being so exaggerated with the stick. Then I was able to close the gap more.
Leading beside needs some work especially on the right side.
Desensitizing with plastic bag was reasonable and so was the helicopter exercise.
She moved some but I got her calm after a few steps sideways. Then I quite her. I didn't work her at all on the way back to barn except to back her up the sand hill to it.


Day 5-Saturday 8/22/15
Rd pen- was pretty good. I still want her to hook on faster as I explained above. She actually stopped a couple times when I was asking her to change directions, I believe because she thought I was gonna relieve the pressure. So I had to keep driving her through the turn. She still has some hesitation and I have to walk a 1/2 circle or more until she hooks on and walks to me. I want to improve that so that she craves to be next to me. When she did hook on I let her stand next to me a good long while.
Did some slapping the ground with the string while she was standing still.
She stood fine for that.
YH-very good, 360 no problem.
Flexing was very light.
YF/shoulder- much better here. I could get 3 steps. She wants to backup more now. So I'll build off of that with my position so she doesn't back so much. She didn't swing her butt over or walk forward today.
LR1 was good and relaxed.
Sending was much improved. I actually worked a LR into the sending by having her go all the way around a couple times then asking for disengagement and sending her back through the other way. Once I did that a few times the sending was much more relaxed for her.
Her backups are getting real good. She is straightening up for me nice and I am even able to get some arcs in her in her backup preparing for some circles.
Circling was even better I was able to progress to transitions from one direction to the other with some fluidity.
She was so relaxed I decided to do some Jeffries method on her where I get on her bareback and lay on her and rub her all over. No problem.
The leading behind was better. Whereas before I had to pull on her now she is staying up with me better. Not so much heaviness and she is getting out of the way when I have her turn and she has to move her shoulder.
I got the plastic flag out and worked with that too. She moved some, but not as before. She is getting quieter.
That was it. She was also real relaxed taking detours back to the barn as I did more of the helicopter and used the flag behind me as she walked towards it.