Discouraged

Well, I can safely say I am now having a very off day. Didn't feel like riding Gypsy, so I lunged her around and that was all great and fine. Got out the clippers again and shaved off her whiskers, attempted a bridepath, but the dang clippers were kind of dull. Ventured to try her ears, and discovered that- while she is fine and dandy for everything else- clipping her ears is an act of war on her poor little self. Fun.

Then had an iffy ride in training class. I mean she wasn't terrible, but I was getting annoyed, and just felt so hopelessly discouraged. Now that she is finally giving me baby haunches and shoulders in, she is being stubborn on moving her hindquarters over. And I have yet to get her to canter at a decent pace. There is no speed control...it's fast, or break into a trot. Ugh! If I had more room in the arena, I might be able to work on it. But it is so hard in there. We put out a mini trail course for the first time. She was great at most of it- cross the bridge nicely, walk over poles, back an L decently... But oh boy the gate. Not that she was real afraid of it. She wanted to push it over, and didn't want to be manuvered around it. But yes. She is still a work in progress, but if I step back from today and look at her, she is still doing well and is getting better. Sigh, I just get discouraged and worried about the rate of her progress is all, I suppose. I'll be over it in the morning, I'm sure.

In other news, I fed a duck some tortilla out of my hand at the park today.