Today is the big day! I think she is going well enough that I will be able to get on her back today. Again, I started with the basics. Ground work with and without the saddle and driving. All of this builds onto what a horse understands and does or does not fear. I started with just putting weight in the stirrup, laying across the saddle and rubbing her on the off side (this is where the stick and string come in handy, if I hadn't been playing the friendly game with her in the groundwork...how could I now put my body in that dangerous position?). I did this on both sides and she only boogered a little. Once the booger came up, though, I backed up and worked some ground work. There is no point in trying to push a horse past a fear spot. Back up and try to find out what the problem is, fix it and then move forward in the progression. When we got back to the point of me getting on, she was ready.
Once I had mounted her, I did what I heard Pat Parreli say..I got the heck off! I mounted her several more times from both sides before I even asked her to move. You are in the most vulnerable position you can be in, when you are trying to swing a leg over a horse. So it makes sense to spend quite a bit of time getting it right.
I finally asked her to move out and she stepped out with little fear or trepidation. We made several trips around the round pen at a walk. I asked her to turn into the fence (the driving basic), away from the fence and one or two stops. She really did well!
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