Baby Steps

Baby Steps

It has been an amazing month just watching Ellen's progress on the trail.

As I have said in the past, Ellen has a mostly great horse, but she is plagued with anxieties.  Her cognitive distortions make her see Dante through black-colored, (rather than rose-colored,) glasses.  Maybe it has something to do with all these pictures I keep posting of his rambunctious behavior?  This is what she imagines he will be like when she rides.

This is the reality.  She has a horse that just likes to stand in one place and look at things.

This year, she had decided on a completely different approach to preparing herself and Dante for spring riding.  Instead of working out on the driveway and the loop trail around the property, she is working with him on the hill.

Last year, he was spooking at the low-flying planes.  (We ride very close to the airport.)  Most of that went away when we reduced his grain, but the memory of it stayed with her.  In fact, they planes still frighten her, but thanks to Covid-19, the planes are few and far between.  So instead of trying to work with her plane fear in the driveway, she can go down the hill, and on most days we don't even see a single plane.

She started with leading him to the mounting block, mounting, dismounting and leading him a few steps and then turning around and taking him home  Each day she would try to do a little more than the last one.  She would ride a little more and lead a little more.  One day, she rode 1/3 of the way down the hill.  The next, she rode halfway down and led the rest.  Before we knew it, she rode all the way to the bottom of the hill.  Each time she would try to go further.  Some days, she would have a set back, but she would still try to see how far she could make it before her heart rate got too high.

Today, she rode all the way down to the bottom of the hill.  There is a short stretch of trail at the bottom that is very suitable for trotting.  I brought my helmet along so I could trot him there to show her he would be fine.  Over the years, he did take off a couple of times down there, and that memory has gotten stuck in Ellen's head.

She rode to the end of the trail, turned him around and rode to the first muddy section.  It is about 20 feet from the end.  She turned him around and trotted him 5 steps!  Of course it doesn't sound like much, but that is huge.  (I guess I didn't need to my helmet.)

Even more huge is that she didn't get off and take him home.  She did it a few more times.  Then, she started to increase the distance a few more strides.  He was doing great. She was doing great, too.

Off in the distance, we heard an airplane.  It was landing, and it is the landing planes that bother Dante the most.  Plus, without any leaves on the trees, he could see it.  She panicked, and said she was going to get off.  She must have seen the dismay in my face, because she then added that she would get back on once the plane has past.

She stood next to Dante; waiting for something to happen that never did.  They both watched the plane fly by.  Dante was as calm as a cucumber.  I wish I could say the same about Ellen, but at least she could see with her own eyes that Dante didn't care about the plane, and Ellen's racing heart didn't scare him, either.

She kept her word and got back on to continue her ride.  The last time they trotted, she much have gone at least 20 strides.  Ellen loves trotting, and if there is anything that could lure her to cross that river, it is the image of trotting quietly down the trail on her beloved Dante.

She did admit that she kept glancing over to the river.  I don't think it will be long, now.