A step forward

This morning I watched the best clip ever of a rider working with problem horses. You can see it here if you would like to check it out. http://www.halfpassgal.com/breathevideo.htm

Now some of these horses pull some of the same things that Gypsy does and it got me thinking. I'm really an ok rider. Most people wouldn't be able to deal with some of the things Gypsy throws at me. But somehow I can handle it. The video also inspired me to work a little harder at being quiet and calm while riding and also being persistent in asking what I want and not backing down to her. Ride through it and come out the other side. Well, that was exactly what I did today. I rode through it and came out the other side better for it and Gypsy did too. Gypsy refused to leave the yard at first but I kept at her and let her take things at her own pace too. She kept saying that she couldn't but I finally got her to believe that she could and she believed me! She walked down the road past the scary spot and kept going to the field that I like to ride in with little slowing down and almost no stopping and freezing. I was able to walk her around the field an even get a small trot going. Nothing much for a trot since it is still sloppy and wet but still, it's something! She was also much less spooky today which was very nice. It was still hard to keep her attention but today was our best ride in a while and I feel like we are making steps forward. I'm happy and I should be. I've worked hard to get her sound and keep her healthy. Now I'm working on getting her where she needs to be in her training. It's a lot of hard work, but it's what I wanted. I can't back down now because it's too hard. The funny thing is though, is that I'm finding that I do have the knowledge to do this, it's been there all these years and I'm now learning to tap into what I learned from others many years ago. Or maybe I'm getting some confidence back in myself.