Cob Jockey

Man, I'm enjoying this horse.

She's been interesting as I've started really working with her. She's so people-oriented, yet you could tell she had almost no exposure to the idea that people could ask her to do things - stay in this box, stand here, put your feet there. The first night I did a few of Kate's groundwork exercises with her, I could feel her brain go 💥 THIS IS A THING?!

But by the second night, after two ten minute sessions over two days?

I could move her feet without touching her, by merely suggesting in the air with the whip that she should move left, right or backwards. Guys, this horse is SMART. Having done these same exercises with Connor and Pyro, they didn't learn nearly as quickly, nor were they even close to being as sensitive. I almost felt like I could move her with just my mind, in her first twenty minutes of capital T Training ever.

Turning away from her after a good repetition to let her know with my body language that I wasn't going to ask anything of her in that moment and she could rest

I had an interesting conversation with Lisa in which I was talking about how surprised Eva was that people could ask her to do things, and she said her trainer friends she works with and respects quite a bit have said they don't prefer to take on unstarted mares past the age of 5 (Eva's age) for exactly that reason - they get a little set in their worldview by 6. It was validating to hear that I'm not alone in that thought, and being grateful I get the chance to work with Eva now.

Yes I know I just talked about how she needs to learn playing human games is fun, but also Eva has found this THE MOST dumb thing ever, so she gets to do it every day. Not every necessary life skill is a party.

Mostly, she just makes me smile. Every interaction with her is fun, and every interaction challenges me in the best of ways. Okay, she just learned what I thought were a weeks' worth of lessons in 20 minutes, what's next?

Letting her stand still after a good repetition and respecting her bubble as I walk around her to scratch her withers for a reward

For me, I am not sure I could have appreciated a horse like this until now. I'm grateful for the lessons I've learned that have made me both able to appreciate her and able to do her justice in terms of patience, feel and subtly. That's not to say I won't make mistakes with her, but I'm a lot more equipped to do right by her than I would have been a few years ago.