This week, we continued to increase the softness & responsiveness within Bend at the Walk & Draw to a Stop. With Rowdy, we spent a fair bit of time on Vertical Flexion at the Standstill to really focus on keeping his head straight consistently & blocking his attempts to find that release laterally.
We're at the stage with a lot of these exercises where Rowdy knows the drill. We're past the teaching stage & have moved into the "do it now" stage, where I'm a lot less lenient on his promptness to respond.
The boys also had their first bareback ride on Tuesday. To get on, I spent a fair time working on a variation of Pick Me Up Off the Fence at the picnic table. Rowdy wasn't sure of having me up high above him at first, but once he figured out that's where he received & got rubbed on, it didn't take long for him to pull up beside me. Once on, he did well & wasn't bothered.
Today, we took a trip down the lane. While Rowdy wasn't concerned with walking over the culvert during his very first ride outside, today, it looked a bit different with all of the snow piled up & a poor view of the creek. After a couple of crossings back & forth, he was comfortably walking across it on a loose rein. He was also a bit forward, wanting to trot frequently, so we got good practice with One Rein Stops. However, not complaining about that compared to that sticky-footed first ride outside.
Next week's update will be posted on Friday.
Comments