Breezes and Flags

I lunged Brandy on Tuesday with side reins. She did really well and held her head collected as if she'd been doing it forever. There was a bonus to our lessen that made me extremely proud of her. The trainer was working with a horse and had all sorts of scary things (tarps, flags, blankets) scattered about the fence. The door was also open and letting the breeze into the arena. Several times the breeze came through and ruffle the flag or tarp. Brandy perked up her ears sharply, raised her head, balked, and stared hard at the flag the first time. Then she walked slowly forward! A few other times caused a little anxiety, but no bolting! We moved through walk and trot and even a very fast trot in which she kept her head collected. She did so well that I had the brilliant idea to ask her for a canter. She bolted without a second thought. After that I had a hard time even getting her to move. After about half an hour of frustration because she would barely walk, let alone trot (even with the whip) or canter, I untacked her. The day was nice, so we walked around outside a little. She needed to cool down and, to be honest, so did I. I didn't want to put her away while I was still frustrated with her.
Looking back on the meat of the lessen it went really well. I have to keep reminding myself that she bravely continued to be lunged even with the flag and tarp and blankets wisping in the breeze and how far she has come since I started working with her.