Parts 3 and 4

We had one small break in the sweltering weather so I asked my husband for help with Mara. I told him how Eryn helped, and that I'd need mostly moral support from him, reminders to breathe, etc. This time I had cut myself a little switch from a wispy tree to see if having a crop would help her go forward.


It went very well that day. When Mara balked, I'd circle her, and when she backed, J would grab her lead rope and I'd swat her with the stick. After a while J did not have to be there and he left us at the top of the switchback trail and I went a good ways down, using the crop when she refused.

On the way home I even rode by the shepherd's house with his dogs on cables and chickens and kids. J was behind me - I held mane but again it was no big deal besides spooking in place.

Part 4

Eryn's move was delayed so she was able to come over Friday. I had bought a shiny new riding crop, the kind with the loop so you can hang it on your saddle if you don't need it.

We headed out - me on Mara and Eryn on foot. We went straight to the grassy slope where the problems all began and for the first time, Mara just walked down the hill with me, no refusals at all. Eryn was at the top, just waiting for us. I made sure we went into the woods a ways before turning Mara and heading back. Of course, this was the one day there was no audience at all, so they couldn't see our big improvement!

Then Eryn said she wanted us to go over to the shepherd's place, and ride *down* the hill there, something I'd never done before  - usually we come home that way and it's challenging enough just making it by there with a home-bound horse.

I couldn't refuse so we headed down there. Big spook at a stump Mara had never seen before, and then more sheep on our right to make things challenging. As we neared the house I was pretty much petrified with fear, and Eryn's voice kept encouraging us forward. I didn't know it but she was videotaping us from back there. Finally something put Mara over the edge and she whirled in a circle to escape. I yanked her back around and we were somehow able to continue. Once we made it past, Eryn told us to come back and try again. *sigh* OK then. This time when we were even with the house, the shepherd himself was suddenly standing there, breaking up boxes. The ripping noises were pretty thrilling for Mara. We made it down again but I was at my limit, I couldn't take anymore. Once past the house in the actual woods, it's all easy cuz it's my comfort zone. Eryn was hoping her video would show the difference between me riding in my comfort zone and me riding on the edge of my seat. Sadly the video is pretty shaky, but it does capture that spin she pulled.

We turned around again and a third time, Eryn said, "Go down again." I just couldn't do it - I jumped off the horse and handed her the reins. I said, "I'm done, I can't do it again. Twice is enough for me today. If you want to ride her down it, go ahead, but I'm not sure it will help anything."

What could she say, I'd reached my limit, and Mara had managed it twice. There is plenty of time in the future to go back and work there again. The videos are below.

***

I should clarify that this is not a physical thing with Mara, because she has to go both down and up a hill to get to the trailhead, and does not balk getting there (unless we see sheep). The one hill she balks on is a gentle slope in comparison to the road getting there, and once we've past the trailhead she goes pretty well in steeper areas, even spots she has to slide down.

The trailheads represent the door to the office and she doesn't feel like going to work that day. Also she's had some scary encounters right at these trailheads, so she's using that as a reason to try to get out of it.

It's encouraging to hear that some other bloggers have dealt/are dealing with this very issue. I'm glad I'm not alone. I find it interesting that the scenarios are almost identical - a horse refusing a downhill slope anticipating work or scary encounters, trying to intimidate its rider to just back down and get off or go home.

Here's a video of that very first time Mara balked, which totally surprised me. Eryn was riding, and Eryn was not nervous, so that wasn't a cause on this day.

Here's the first time she went down the hill without balking at all. Eryn responds to me noticing that for the first time, we don't have a family of onlookers watching us. Bummer, they  missed it! No action at all to see here, it was very nice.

Here's part one of me riding by the shepherd's house, and part two.  (I've named them "Just go down the hill" even though usually I mean that grassy slope when I say that. Strangely, in these vids, you cannot see the house of doom very well, nor the sheep on the other side. Know that when Eryn says "Watch out for the fence" she means the BARBED WIRE fence just to keep things interesting there. : ) )

Totally unrelated, below are pics from when I cleaned out muck from our tiny pond and Mara investigated the muck, my net, and the creepy creatures that come out of the muck.