Maggie's been in training lately, so all I do is hack her.  Although my trainer was out of town dealing with a personal emergency, I've still just been doing that, so that i don't confuse her.  So, I was out of work early on Friday and headed to the barn for a hack before the sun went down.  We headed to the berry field...

They've finished the fencing of the field next to it, and although the posts have been there for ages, apparently this was a good excuse to spin and bolt, then buck and leap.  I managed to get her back under control quicker than usual and won the battle and off we went.  She started jigging, so now we're in a forward trot in a frame because we will NOT be jigging.  Half way around I brought her back to the walk.  The last quarter of the hack is towards that field, directly towards the gate.  She had a long rein and I decided to let her keep on and we'd see what she did.  She was good, no problem, so we went on back to the barn, you know, might as well end her on a good note.

So, today, it's a gorgeous day, and I figured we'd head out again.  Today there are two horses in the field, oldies, not going to even bother with Maggie.  I had two options heading out there, put her to the bit and get control pre-emtively, or see what she does on the long rein.  It occurred to me that a lot of trainers will tell you that you have to let the horse make the mistake so you can correct them and let them know it wasn't the right answer.  So, we marched out on a long rein.

And little Muffin was lovely.  She was on alert, and she had a little spook when there was a bit of a noise, but she didn't stop and she certainly didn't have the freak out she did Friday.  She was in season, so I know why she had such a hissy fit, but, I'm glad I gave her the chance to show that she was going to be a good girl.  And I get to show her that I trust her to be good.  We can't always rely on this mare, she's stubborn as all hell and has some bad habits, but I love her to death and I think she's finally growing up just a bit...