In which my tablet is used to build this post (more prep for the Cross-State)

Darlene made the excellent point that I don't talk much about what a nice horse the Dragon has become. 
I really need to do that.

Since the photo was taken by my phone, I sent it to Facebook first
then downloaded it to the tablet to load up here. Relatively easy.

It's really true: in the 12+ years we've been together, the Dragon had changed from being an (extremely) angry toddler

I grabbed this photo from an old Haikufarm post,
downloaded it to the tablet, and then easily pasted it here.

to being a steady mount in the arena

I wanted to insert a video here, but the YouTube mobile page
doesn't let me do that.

and most importantly, completely amazing on the trail.

Manipulating photos and adding captions is
MUCH easier on the larger screen of the tablet, but still not as easy
as using a computer for the tasks.

What changed?

The first thing we did was enforce rules and boundaries.

To tweak photo size or select "add caption" I click the photo,
and then have to make everything small, because selecting
makes the whole page zoom big, which is weird.

This mare likes rules and boundaries--sometimes, she tests them, just to make sure they are still there, because she finds them comforting.

So, training and lots of it.  Not just dressage and trails, either.  Tricks were important to help her learn to watch me for cues and value my praise (erm, and the cookies in my pockets.  Bridging praise is important!)

Eventually we hit a plateau: very little behavioral improvement. That, plus her perpetual heat cycles, led us to choose an ovariectomy for her.

I'm getting better at adding photos.

The result of the spay procedure was more than I dared hope: her chronic pain--and the grouchiness associated with that pain--went away. This was huge. If there is one thing I regret most about my relationship with this horse, it is that I didn't recognize the pain symptoms and spend this time and money on her sooner.

But we weren't done yet. In 2013 and 2015 I had my chronic pain issues surgically fixed by submitting to total hip replacement. During the run-up to and recovery from surgery, it was Fiddle's job to keep me in the saddle and keep me safe, even when I was riding under the influence of some pretty powerful  pain meds.

Neither Blogger's regular page nor the app will
let me add more than one photo at a time.
That's kind of a pain.

She took excellent care of me. She still does. In fact, she's shown a talent for Taking Care:

Editing out typos in a post's text or photo's caption is really kind of a pain...
and I think the tablet spell checker is more assertive also
(which means that it guesses wrongly more often!)

Who would have guessed that the mare who was famous for showing other riders the size-label on her rear shoes would be a top choice for teaching young horses how to behave on the trail?



The final ingredient for this mare's change towards goodness is time, and lots of it.  The Dragon and I have spent years learning to trust each other, making mistakes, hopefully fixing the mistakes, and trying again.

One of the best things we do for each other is to head out on the trail, and consider the possibilities when one or the other of us says,

"Hey, do you wanna find out if that new trail over there goes someplace interesting?"