Day Thirteen-Shortcake's First Ride; Penny gets a saddle

Shortcake was pretty awesome today.  She took the saddle really well inside the barn and walked all the way to the round pen with it.  I also put a new halter on her today and she didn't care about it either.  It is time to "mount up".  We did a little ground work before hand and made sure she was comfortable at all gaits with the saddle and then I put the bit into her mouth.  She took it like a champ and proceeded to chomp around on it for a while.  She didn't really like the taste as she gave me the "lip".  She went around a few more time and then it was time for me to be on her back and do the same thing.  I made sure she was good with flexing with the bit and then proceeded to jump up and down next to her then flick my foot at the stirrup and then i went up.  She didn't really move so I got down and did the process over again.  This time I reached over and rubbed her other side and then got down and repeated; only this time i went all the way over.  She didn't move a muscle!!!!  We stood there for a minute and then took off at a walk.  She did very well and we only had a slight crow hop the first time i asked for the canter.  She doesn't want to give to the bit pressure to turn but I am OK with that as long as we get the go and whoa.

Penny is, if you hadn't realized already, a completely different horse.  She is still pretty hesitant about the saddle and not super comfortable with ropes around her hind end.  Christen has done an awesome job with being patient and working with the horse at her pace but still pushing her a little bit more each day.  It never seems like much progress has been made but you can tell that Penny is trusting her a little more each time they work together.  Penny knows Christen won't eat her but I am not sure she knows the saddle won't eat her yet.  Funny thing is that Christen is the one with the saddle.  Hopefully, Christen can start with some drive lines during the next session and she can gain a little more trust and confidence with the saddle on her back.  She is super smart and just needs it to click in her head, and I believe once that happens Penny is going to be an even more awesome horse.