Brian came over to help today and we both got to ride Star for her first ride session. I warmed her up, quietly and not pushing her much, but checking her over for sensitivity carefully. I saddled her and bridled her, then did some ground work off the bit and patted the saddle hard, dropped the stirrups, etc. I took the first ride with Brian leading her. She did not show much nervousness at all, but was very sluggish. Making her go forward was the entire challenge once Brian unhooked us. At one point I tried to get a trot and ended up landing on her neck after a mild buck. I stayed on and kept riding. She did not seem too upset to have me hanging on her neck and did not show any signs of wanting to buck a second time. She only bucked because I was kicking her to trot. We will have to work to get more impulsion the next time.
I went to get Panda and Brian hopped on Star while I rode Panda bareback. Brian rode for another 25 minutes and looked great. He got her to trot a little and even lope a few strides. Panda was hot and nervous, a disappointment to me. I was riding bareback and couldn't deal with it much. But it was a great session overall and a lot of fun to get Star started as a saddle horse!
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