Our New Teeter-Totter

Last year a bunch of us Tidal Treasures crew went to the Heritage Horse Show in Windsor and watched a trail class. We pretty much ALL wanted the platform used in the class and put it on our "wish list".
We even took a picture for reference:

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when training the youngsters to get on a trailer and they didn't all love it! Pam reminded Carrilee of wanting this platform to let her Tikki get the feel of stepping up, so of course Carrilee went home and asked hubby again.
Carrilee's hubby is no ordinary Hubby - he built one that could teeter if we want and could withstand the strongest Wind, pun intended! It's pretty heavy so it's located where built - at the Tidal Treasures sattelite farm. Even though Mister calls out "No, man! Don't do it!", here's what Carrilee & Willow did as soon as they saw it:

Willow's First Time on the Teeter-totter
Not sure if you can make it out but at the end I ask her "Who taught you to be so smart?!" That would be her previous owner who had her for ten years - Lynn Beazley. Thanks again, Lynn for another awesome moment for me and my girl.


Willow's First Ride Over
Nicole's First Time Over and Mister's First Time Over
Mama's First Ride Over

You can really see what a difference a balanced rider has when they go over the teeter-totter. Marie made it look really easy, she's very well-balanced here. When I took Willow over, she veered a bit to the left while stepping off. It's likely no coincidence that I tend to put more weight on my left, just a tiny bit according to the Port Lewis Impression Pad but I bet that's why she went left! This teeter-totter is good not only for fun but for working on our balance & soft, slow aids. When Willow walked over it by herself, she felt the shift and adjusted herself and kept straight - even a tiny bit of imbalance from a rider seems to make a difference. This is SO much fun!