This little 20 minute session, which is only the second time I have asked anything of Querida in the arena, started by getting present and finding our connection, our neutral place. This was a lot quicker today which was fantastic. Once I had the connection, I just started working with keeping that connection while I moved around her, and then we started to find our communication. I am clicking my tongue for forward and using ‘sshhh’ for stop. Both gentle and soft requests that don’t really involve any words, rather than the ‘Walk On’ and ‘Halt’ commands we are all so used to. Also by having a really peaceful non-thinking neutral place, just the move from still to walk, changes the energy and focusses it into forward movement.
You will see when I walk forward I look at her and ask her to come to me and walk with me. It worked really well. I don’t know how much ‘training’ Querida has had in the past, but I am starting from a basis of no previous training. The only knowledge I have was that she would be happily on a lead rope with a rider. The challenge will be to move from asking her to come to me, to walking on with me behind her. Hence the commencement of learning a sound for moving forward. What I am wanting to avoid is the asking forward by pushing her away from me, again something that seems to be the norm however gently it maybe done.
Everything is kept quiet and peaceful and when necessary we went back to neutral.
She had no problems with me rolling the chariot next to me or around her.
To be honest I was really fascinated by how connected we were and how much focus she kept with me within that connection, considering she has come into season and Timmy was a target for her. Quite a test, but the main thing was to just keep requesting her focus, not demanding it, or trying to control it, and by doing that she pretty much remained with me, despite her hormones occasionally taking precedence.