Baby Steps and small improvements - Stella

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Stella's first signs of progress.

Well I have to say, although the steps are small they are most certainly there. I have taken to going to see Stella before and after work, and also I have begun bringing her in just to have some fuss and then to go back out. I don't want her to associate me with work, I want her to see me as her friend and someone that will look after and protect her. She now has a token feed with some herbal calmer in it which seems to be helping her to just take a few more seconds to consider things. In the last week she has made small improvements such as not rushing as soon as I am on board. She will now walk out of the yard and up the road without too much pulling and prancing. She seems much more settled and happy to have a look at things instead of just running away. Bingo! This was the first breakthrough that I was hoping for, and this is pre me learning any healing or communication techniques. Currently she is living out in a small paddock so she gets her days out in the sun to relax. I'm hoping that she is starting to realize that whatever has happened in her  past. Its not going to happen again. 

These first tiny signs of her starting to trust me are incredibly inspiring. I couldn't move my hands when I was riding her a week ago, she would just panic and try to run away.  her default reaction to anything that she is worried about is to run. Not buck or rear or do anything 'naughty' just to run. Already I can rub her neck and talk to her whilst we are under saddle without her worrying too much and without her speeding up drastically. Now I want to tackle her issues with traffic, again just one baby step at a time, gradually teasing out her boundaries so that her comfort zone increases. This is where I may bring the clicker training into play. It will just be a case of seeing how she reacts to different things to start with. Then I can form the most helpful way for her to realize that she will be ok if she trusts me.  

This entire process is already giving me a bigger vision, and I haven't even started my course yet. I cannot wait to see where this takes me and my four legged friends. 

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