First Drill Practice!

One of the things that sets Cowgirl Spirit Rescue Drill Team apart from other rescues, is that we use the sport of drill to train our horses to be valuable equine athletes. In the sport of drill, horses learn to ride close to other horses at all gates (walk, trot, canter and even gallop). They get used to loud music, many different arenas and most will even learn to carry a flag. In our experience, the rescues that we have worked with and introduced to drill, have quickly become well rounded equines.

So, I wondered if our tactic for the rescues would have the same affect on a wild mustang. Sangria has quickly become stable enough in her training to start riding with the team. On Wednesday, I took her on a two hour trail ride, where she had to carry me up steep terrain, over logs, through creeks and puddles and downhill. On the way back to the trailer, we rode down a quiet side street with little traffic. However, as we passed a house, a little Jack Russell terrier came racing out, barking at our horses. Sangria bolted forward, but only got about two strides before I asked for a one-rein stop. She quickly stopped and stood there watching the dog. I'm so glad her training is sticking with her in those kinds of moments.

Last night, we had drill practice. We were missing a few of our riders, so we mostly just worked one on one and a bit with eachother. Sangria and I did lots of walking and trotting. She gets grumpy when I ask her to trot, and is fairly lazy - but she doesn't do anything about it other than pin her ears. I'm pretty sure this is a greenie thing and will go away fairly quickly.

Towards the end of the practice, I started doing manuevers with the rest of the group. Sangria was easily maneuverable into her spot - but she had issues with herd dynamics. She's still so green that she doesn't quite understand that pinning her ears and threatening to bite other horses isn't acceptable. Being the boss mare in the pasture is still her mentality when riding. I am working hard to curb that behavior immediately and am fairly confident it is also a greenie thing and will not be an issue.

Here's a couple pics of her out with the rest of the group last night. I'm so proud of her! The one thing that I think she also needs work on is dealing with other people. One of our team members went to pet her and she repeatedly pinned her ears, wanting nothing to do with her. We need to make sure this doesn't become a habit either. Treating people that way is not acceptable. Luckily she's not that way with all people!

Early tomorrow morning we are taking almost all of the horses to the beach for the holiday weekend. I am excited to ride Sangria on the beach and am confident that she is more than ready for it! I'll be sure to get lots of pictures - though I think it's supposed to be rainy weather! Oh well!