Lost Connection for Willow and I

Yesterday I headed out to the barn by myself and had planned on riding Willow for our 4th ride. I didn't have any real plans other than ride and play with her, but when I arrived I ran into a couple of other ladies and we decided to all ride together.

I started with ground work and Willow did great. After warming up we tacked up and rode in the arena for a bit before heading out to the trails. She did well the first part of the ride, but then we got into some mud and new territory. She got upset then and did some small spooks and dancing. We made it up to the top of the hill we were riding and I decided to dismount to hand walk down the muddy hills. I had lost the connection once we hit that mud and she got nervous so I figured no reason to try and ride her down the hill. Could I have ridden her down the hill, sure I probably could have, she wasn't doing anything I couldn't handle, but why. Once we made it down the long hill it was very clear she was concerned with the other horses and getting home so I decided it would be a good opportunity to work on some leading manners. So we walked the rest of the way home, lol. We did some yielding and very low key things, but even when I asked quietly, many times she would get very very anxious and move very fast around me. Not what I was looking for all. I gave her rewards for quiet behaviors and we stopped to graze a lot, but I never felt the connection come back. It was plainly obvious that she was more worried about the other horses (who were a bit anxious and rushy too)  and getting home.

To be clear I never felt like I didn't have control over the situation. That was never an issue, physically Willow did what I asked. She never tried to pull the lead rope out of my hands, she responded to me when I would ask her to move her feet, but mentally she was gone. I always ask myself when working with my horses if my lead rope wasn't here would they still be with me. And my answer was very clear yesterday, Willow would have been gone.

While the ride/walk, lol, wasn't the greatest ever, it was a good eye opener on what Willow and I need to work on. We definitely went to far to fast. That is okay, we just take some steps back now. My revised game plan now is that I either ride Willow alone or just with my partner. That way I can end the ride when we are still working together and she isn't anxious. It is not fair to ride with others and cut their ride short. By summer I figure Willow and I will be back to riding all the trails with my riding friends :)