Rowdy & Slate have settled in nicely here & have figured out the feeding routine. Though, it's safe to say they are nearly attached at the hip!
Right off the bat, both Rowdy & Slate have curious dispositions & are much more interested in me when I'm in the pen than Krimson, Sonny, & Drifter were. If they can remain this 'personable' while still being a bit sensitive & responsive under saddle (rather than a bit dull as Krimson was), they'll be a ton of fun to start.
Because of their curious nature that I wanted to continue to foster, I have remained in their pen this week working on Desensitizing to the Lead Rope, Yielding the Hindquarters, Yielding the Forequarters, & a bit of backing before we venture to the round pen.
Rowdy wasn't terribly nervous about Desensitizing to the Lead Rope but did want to continue backing away from me for quite a while. We had to spend a fair bit of time working on that. As the days have gone by, he's beginning to understand that I'm not asking him to move his feet. Yielding the Hindquarters Stage 1 went well. Yielding the Forequarters required a bit more time as well. He had a tendency to want to walk forward or move his hindquarters a bit too much. All normal young horse behavior as he's learning these for the first time.
Next week, we'll move to the round pen & continue moving through the groundwork exercises.
Next week's update will be posted on Friday.
I do my best to get these updates posted in a timely manner, but it's not uncommon for me to be outside until after dark, depending on the weather, my schedule, & who gets worked when so updates will sometimes be posted quite late in the evening. Don't be alarmed if you don't see your update right away. In rare cases, I may have to push them until the next morning, but I'll reach out & let you know if so.