Richard Boatwright I'd like to ask where in your videos you think I should start with my horse? She's a seven year old cow-bred quarter horse mare. The colt starter I sent her to when she was two did not do a good job with her. She backed in a curve to the right or not at all when she came home. I spent years riding her terribly wrong; kicking, spurring, pulling, jerking, taking everything she didn't do personally and getting angry with her. She has holes in her foundation and is super bracy. The best thing I ever did was regulate my nervous system and learn how to stay calm and not take my horse personally. It's been a huge game changer for us. Now I have to learn how to undo the damage I've done. I started by watching your 10 Commandments videos and applying what I saw when riding and things started to get better. But I thought I should start with the colt starting videos to ensure she didn't have any holes. Day 1 went well. Day 2 not so much. Any time I ask her to go around me on a lead line (or with a neck rope), she drops her inside shoulder towards me and sticks her nose to the outside. In the Naches Day 1 video, you say that it's a great exercise for a bracy horse, but I'm not getting her to soften at all. Am I in the right place, and do I just need to slow down and focus on this issue before moving on with the colt starting videos? 

Richard Boatwright how long is your lead rope/neck rope? 

I've been a member for a few weeks now and am really appreciating the videos. I'm starting with watching the 10 Commandments videos. 

I'm restarting my 7 year old quarter horse mare. I've had her since she was a long yearling. She has a history of serious illness and injuries (fractured vertebra, cut an artery in her hoof, salmonella) and by the grace of God is sound and healthy. The colt starter I sent her to when she was two was not great. While I'm a lifelong horse person and am a good rider, I am not a trainer (though I want to be). I have audited a lot of clinics and watched a lot of videos, but I wasn't paying attention to the responses I was getting when I tried to apply what I was learning. I have done a terrible job with this horse. Due to bad riding from the colt starter and myself, she has not had a good start. In the past six months I've started to really pay attention to my horse and her responses to what I'm doing. It's made a huge difference. She's letting go of a lot of her tension. She's getting more relaxed and balanced, less bracy. I'm taking my time riding and working on one thing at a time. She's well-bred (Playgun), has great confirmation and is good-minded. She's never offered to buck and she loves it when my seven year old son rides her. (He's not riding now while I'm restarting her to ensure she has a good foundation.) She comes right to me whether in her stall or turned out in a pasture and releases/licks and chews a lot. Despite my flaws, we have a good relationship that is getting better as my horsemanship gets better. 

One issue I'm still having is that when she's in the cross ties in the barn (I board at a large facility), I can't touch her without her snapping her teeth at me. When I scratch, rub or brush her, she snaps her teeth. Sometimes she'll pin her ears and snap at me as a warning to stop touching her. She lives in a good sized stall with a decent turnout. I've been riding her at night in the arena alone most nights. I turned her out in a big pasture for an hour and a half yesterday and that made her happy. I was able to rub and scratch her all over in the pasture. I turned her out again today and then took her to the cross ties. Once back in the cross ties she was snappy when I touched or tried to brush her. Sometimes I can rub and scratch her her "spots;" belly, around her ears, etc., and she likes it. Sometimes it doesn't matter where I touch her and she'll pin her ears and snap her teeth. Riding used to be very adversarial and it's not anymore. It's much more relaxed and collaborative. I find out where she's at each day and what she knows and go from there so there's no confusion. I focus on one thing at a time, take my time, and don't ask for something for too long. She's doing so well, I'm really proud of how far we've both come in the past few months. But trying to brush her is still something that makes her cranky. What can I do to teach her to stop snapping when I brush or touch her? Richard Boatwright