A surprisingly tense Tina!

Today was Tina's first ride in about 11 days. She spent 6 days at the Jeffco Fairgrounds during my clinic and I did not ride her there. We did extensive groundwork on 3 of the days, but I was always alone after the clinic and decided not to get on her alone.

So, after that clinic and a few long days of my day job catching up from missed days, it was time to get back on Tina. We had a good warmup, but I could tell she was a little edgier than she's been in months. I assumed the Jeffco "experience" might have set her back a bit, but I also thought getting back into our routine was the best move.

We walked around, stretching out and warming up in the arena. I decided to use the bit/bridle as well. At one point she started to buck and I don't know what caused it. I guess it doesn't matter what caused it, she just felt unsettled. After a couple bucks, I came unseated. I'm fine, it was an easy fall. It did surprise me though.

I took her into the round pen and we went back to work. I kept her at the walk, but did a lot of bending and waited to feel her relax and get mentally calm again. She did feel better and I found a nice quiet place to stop.

I believe I will put her back on Magnesium to see if that has an impact on her tension. I'll also get her back into a solid routine now that the clinic is over and we'll rebuild from there. She's a young horse, early in her training and these things happen. I need to continue paying attention to her tightness and responding to it quickly to make her feel safe and secure.

She's an RBI (Right-Brained Introvert) which makes her more likely to seem fine and then surprise you with nervous energy. She needs more circles and consistent patters to continue building trust.