So far things had been going smoothly and Marion's theory about using things that Aztec understood like ponying and riding to inform and improve his groundwork was working well. They had also kept up work with the hand signals. And Aztec was now easily cued to step backward, to put his head down, and to lift his head up, with hand motions to limit the amount of touching he had to endure from his handler. Now that he understood what was expected of him, his malicious attacks were lessening and occurring less frequently.
Marion made notes of these things in her journal, as she sat having her morning cup of tea. She was really pleased with the way that Aztec was coming along. And today Marion was planning to push him a little bit out of his comfort zone and was interested to see how he handled that.
She smiled to herself thinking about how much help her dad had been. She hadn't gotten to work with him with a horse much since Paint had gone through his horse aggression issues several years back. Jack was an excellent rider, and she loved having an extra set of hands, but he usually was content to take a back seat and to let Amy help her mother. And Amy was something else. She had the gift. She just needed a little more polishing and she was going to be truly great. Marion had been really pleased with the work she'd done with the two rescue horses that Marion had tasked her with working with. Fancy, the sorrel, was coming along beautifully and Pete, the dunn, had the makings of a great all around horse. Marion made a mental note to get some friends together to put the rescue horses through their paces. They were getting to the point where they needed to be put to the test to see if they were ready to find homes or still needed more work.
Marion took a deep draught of her tea and sighed. Maybe getting the rescues off of her plate would help things financially. Marion loved to help horses, but taking these last four horses in when she had little income coming in was stretching her thin. Marion was glad she had taken Lisa on as a client, not only because she needed the money and was hoping that with the money she was making from Lisa, and the rescue horses out of the barn, she could afford to hire a farm hand, but also because she really genuinely liked Lisa. And what's more, she liked the way her dad was with Lisa. He was a bit more relaxed, a bit easier to talk to. And Marion really appreciated that.
She closed her journal, and took one last sip of her tea, casting her eyes at the clock. Lisa should be here soon. Amy and Jack were outside already and Marion should probably join them. They were going to work with Aztec this morning and then, since it was Saturday, Amy was supposed to go to dinner and a movie with Jesse. And Marion had promised she'd help Amy with her rescue horses before she left for her date.
Marion put her coat on and headed out to the barn. When she got there, she put her arm around Amy and pulled her to her in a side hug, kissing her on the temple. "How are you this morning, honey?" Marion asked.
"Great, mom!" Amy said. "I'm looking forward to watching you guys work with Aztec today. I haven't gotten to see him go for awhile."
"It'll be good to have another set of eyes." Marion said, adding, "And then we can work with Fancy and Pete and you can show me what you've been working on."
"I'm excited." Amy said, "Fancy is trusting me more and more each ride."
"That's wonderful, honey." Marion said, stroking her daughter's hair absently, "I was thinking we should have some friends over and get the four of them out soon, if you think yours are ready."
Amy nodded, "I think we can work that out."
Marion smiled.
"Hi, guys." Lisa said coming into the barn.
"Hi," Marion said, as Amy said, "Hello, Mrs. Stillman," and as Jack said, "Hey," as he walked out of the feed room.
"Okay," Marion said, gathering everyone around. "We're going to start today with Aztec and Paint in the round pen. Both tacked up. And we're going to start with ponying, like Aztec is used to. Then we'll work him in hand for a few minutes, which is the note we've been ending on. But instead of ending, I am going to have you hop back on, Lisa. And we'll pony him again, and see how he takes that."
"Changing up his expectations…" Lisa said nodding.
"And seeing if he keeps his brain." Marion agreed. "And if he does, and everything goes perfectly, I'll have you ride him a bit without dad and Paint."
"Okay," Lisa said nodding.
Jack looked a bit apprehensive but nodded in agreement.
"Amy's going to be sitting in on our session today and letting me know if she notices anything I've missed, if that's okay with you, Lisa." Marion added.
"Of course. That's totally fine," Lisa said. "The world needs more great horsewomen. And you seem like a very talented young woman."
"Thank you!" Amy said and smiled broadly.
"Alright, let's get started!" Marion said.
Jack and Lisa tacked up Paint and Aztec and took them both out to the round pen. Jack put his foot in the stirrup and mounted Paint from the ground, and Marion gave Lisa a leg up and then handed the leadrope to her father and joined Amy on the fenceline.
Jack and Lisa walked the horses around, chatting amiably with each other about daily business at Heartland and Fairfield. Jack enjoyed the ease with which they interacted with each other. She was easy to talk to and he found himself laughing more with her than he usually did. Today Lisa was regaling him with a story about her SUV getting a flat and a run in she had with a tow truck driver. He couldn't help smiling and laughing at the way she wrinkled her nose in disgust and the vivacity with which she told a story.
Amy leaned over to her mother, and muttered quietly, "Are they always like this?"
Marion leaned into her daughter conspiratorially, "Pretty much." She replied.
Amy goggled her eyes out emphatically and smiled broadly.
Marion shrugged in her direction, rolling her eyes. "Alright!" Marion said, "Let's go ahead and put them up to a trot."
Jack and Lisa trotted around easily, still chatting. They changed direction multiple times and worked through several upward and downward transitions.
"Excellent!" Marion called from the rail. "Now let's let 'em walk for a minute. Then Lisa, I'd like you to hop down and work him on the ground."
"Okay," Lisa said, and they brought the horses down to a walk.
"Are you ready to try this on your own?" Jack asked quietly, a bit of concern edging into his voice.
Lisa smiled at him, "Jack, this is certainly not the first time I've ridden a race horse."
He tipped his head, shrugging his shoulders, "I know that, but…"
"Your concern is touching," Lisa said softly, "but I trust Marion completely. I'm in good hands with both of you."
Jack smiled, and the tips of his ears started burning. He knew he was blushing. And he looked down at his hands, holding the reins in one hand and the leadrope with the other.
"Of course," Lisa said, smiling, "I'd be pretty content to let you pony me around as long as you wanted to."
Jack laughed, casting a sideways glance at her, "That's one of the things I really like about you, Lisa, you don't care what other people think of you! Someone could come here and see me leading you around like a beginner and you would be totally comfortable with that."
"Heck yea!" She laughed, "Who doesn't want to be led around by a handsome cowboy?!"
Jack's blush deepened and he laughed.
"Alright guys!" Marion called, "Lisa go ahead and step down and take the leadrope back from dad."
Lisa did as Marion instructed and Jack rode over to stand by Amy and Marion.
"Okay," Marion called, "go ahead and work on some turns with him."
"Have you done a join up with them yet?" Amy asked her mother as Marion watched Lisa turn Aztec one way then another.
"Not yet." Marion responded. "They are not quite there yet. Aztec is still unpredictable, and you haven't seen it yet, Amy, but when he gets amped up he'll go right for your jugular. And I am not ready to put Lisa in that vulnerable a position."
"That makes sense." Amy said, "I haven't seen many horses that are predatory like that."
"No," Marion said, "there aren't many. But this horse will take advantage of a situation, even though much of his bad behavior comes from confusion."
"That makes sense." Amy said. "It's just interesting that he takes that frustration in an aggressive direction."
"Yes," Marion agreed. "He's one of the most dangerous horses I've met because of the way he processes and how smart and attentive he is."
"Yeah. Then there's no need to rush things and take a step backward." Amy agreed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Marion turned and smiled at her daughter. She was raising one heck of a horsewoman.
"Okay, Lisa!" Marion called, "Go ahead and back him up. Good. Two more steps. Nice! And lead him forward." She watched as Aztec followed Lisa obediently on a loose line, "Good! Now see if he'll trot after you." Marion watched as Lisa jogged a few steps and Aztec jogged a few steps behind her. "Excellent!"
Lisa turned smiling at Jack, Amy and Marion. "So far so good," she said, rubbing her hands together nervously.
"Okay, let's get you back up there!" Marion said, hopping down from the fence and giving Lisa a leg up. "Here you go, dad." She said, handing Jack the leadrope to Aztec. "Go ahead and walk him around."
"So the idea here is to watch and see how he takes being ridden after he's been worked on the ground and is 'done' for the day, right?" Amy asked.
"Yup," Marion said. "We're watching to see if he overreacts."
"He seems like he could throw a good tantrum." Amy said.
Marion smiled, "You have no idea."
Aztec worked quietly at a walk and trot. Seeming to notice that the routine had changed. But seeming curious about the change rather than angry about it.
"Lisa, how're you feeling?" Marion asked.
"Great," Lisa said, smiling.
"Okay, dad." Marion said, "Go ahead and unclip the leadrope. Then continue to walk around next to Lisa."
"Here goes nothing." Jack said, unclipping the lead.
Aztec proceeded to walk quietly around next to Jack and Paint. Lisa kept her reins light and her hands soft.
"Good! Change direction." Marion called.
Jack and Paint effortlessly changed direction and Lisa and Aztec followed behind them. Lisa guiding him with her seat and legs as she had when they were being ponied, and adding in soft hand cues similar to the ones Jack had been giving him.
"Excellent!" Marion said. "You guys up for a trot?" Marion asked.
"Yup!" Lisa said enthusiastically as Jack nodded grimly.
They trotted around happily, Aztec following Paint, with Lisa guiding him through changes of direction.
"Okay, guys, back to a walk. Good job!" Marion called.
Marion looked at Amy, "End for today? Or push to see if we can get some independence from Lisa and Aztec?"
Amy thought for a moment, then answered, "While I would really like to see Aztec lope, or Lisa ride him independently, with grandpa just sitting in the center of the pen, I think that might be too much for today."
Marion nodded. "Your intuition is spot on. We've asked a lot of him today and he's given it. But if we get greedy, he might blow up."
Amy smiled at her mom. Then looked over to where Jack and Lisa were walking around chatting amicably with Jack telling Lisa a story about how he got busted up by a bucking horse in High River. She looked at her mother quizzically.
Reading her mind, "Your guess is as good as mine." Marion said as they watched Lisa laugh at something Jack had said.
Amy caught her mom's eye and they both laughed.
"Alright, you two!" Marion said. "We can be done for today! Excellent work!"