05/14/2026
Miss Sela has been challenging me. We've had some days where I truly question my resolve and my ability to train her. Though she is very personable and sweet, she is very explosive and I've honestly gotten a little scared and discouraged. On Monday she spooked almost took me out while I was taking the fly mask off her head at the start of the session. No matter how many times I throw the saddle on she still doesn't like it and she will buck at the drop of a hat.
But today I came to the conclusion that I've been doing things all wrong. Because of her tendency to be reactive, I thought if I had her on a lead most of the time, I could interrupt her negative reactions and keep them under control, assuring her that there was no need to freak out. But today, I let her loose in the round pen and tried some of the same things we've been working on and although they took much longer and I didn't get as far, she had to learn to self-regulate and come down on her own. This is the method I should have been using from the beginning and I'm kicking myself for all the wasted time. I have hope moving forward and I have adjusted our goals accordingly.
