My Mare is Smart

or at least a smart-ass-that counts too, right? Since I haven't been riding her this weekend I've been longeing and working on ground manners. She'll stand pretty well with her feet in one place (we've been working on it for a long time now) when the barn is quiet. I can even go in and out of the tack room which is a huge accomplishment! When there is action going on she usually inches forward so she can see what's happening. Always wanting to know everyone else's business-that's my girl! My husband came out with me this weekend and he hasn't seen her in a couple of months. He was impressed with the way her manners are coming along. It's always so nice to hear that since this is one area where I usually only see what still needs to happen and I forget to celebrate the little progresses. I'm normally quite good at that but not with manners. I've really worked on getting her to stretch over her topline and tonight she finally did release some of the tension in her back and swing it a bit. When I felt her back later it was more relaxed and the muscle wasn't locked in a spasm like it was on Wednesday. She's definitely avoiding bending her hind legs and curling her pelvis under herself. I'm almost wondering if she doesn't need another round of hock injections. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. I checked her range of motion with the "carrot stretches" and she's got really good flexibility-her back just hurts. Poor thing, I'm hoping we can get this resolved soon.