It' not all work

The girls have been working very hard on a new project. We have actually had "Maisey" for almost two years.  However she spends much of her time out on pasture. We adopted Maisey from a local couple that were afraid of horses. Maisey was their foster children's pony, but the foster children had long moved on. She was neglected and in rough shape. She still suffers from a disease called heaves, similar to COPD in humans. The primary cause is years of feeding on dusty hay. Some days are worse for her then others. She will never be a good riding horse, but she is fun to play with when she is feeling up to it.
The girls have been friendlying her up since we brought her home. It has taken until now to get her calm enough to saddle up. When we originally brought her home we were told she was ridden often. However when we saddled her up she turned into a bucking bronco that could have given any bronco rider a run for their money at the Calgary Stampede. After much work the girls found the way to Maisie's heart is through her stomach. She would eat a whole bag of carrots if you let her. Maisey was in an exceptionally good mood when this picture was taken. She had her first taste of grass for the year. As you can imagine after a winter of dried up old grass (hay), fresh green grass is a treat. We had to limit her intake because Maisey would eat enough to make herself ill.
Allison and Christina have been bugging for a while now to take her out of the corral for a little ride. After a quick brushing they saddled her up with an old pony saddle and to my surprise she was very calm. I was even able to get her up to a trot with Allison on her back. I was able to get her galloping for an instant but had to slow her down. I am not sure if she was uncomfortable or if it was the sound of Allison screaming, NO SLOW DOWN, but her bucking bronco days returned. However after going back to a trot she calmed down quickly, so did Allison.
A short ride and a brush, then Maisey ate her carrots and returned to the easy life in the corral. Allison and Christina have done a very good job of friendlying up Maisey. We have had many dogs and other pets, but horses are a special animal. Training is very different compared to training dogs. Horses are a prey animal. They need to trust their trainer, they are always getting "spooked". I have had horses stop dead and not move because of a shadow on a trail. Maybe someday the girls will take the experiences with Maisey and train a good trail riding horse