A very exciting day! Christina and I took our babies and the big boys to Ashland for double lessons with Beth. Christina went first with May. Then it was my turn with Dan. He was sooo good!! At first. Ha! But seriously.. he was really good. Beth was quite impressed. We showed off our longing skills and then worked on the start of long lining. We did a circle, then I moved slightly towards his shoulder, but not in front, and led him to walk in a straight line. He was good at it. When I fell back to his middle, he was to go back in a circle. And he was getting it. And Beth was impressed that when I squared my shoulders at him, he stopped and turned in. He was also good about licking and chewing. So then Beth was working with him and a truck appeared on the horizon. DANGER DANGER!!!! hee hee... But he went on high alert and then he lost his brain. He started to get fast and when Beth went to reel him in.. he took off. Only he didn't just take off... or run.. He's a sneaky little turd! He played the line and when he knew he could, he yanked free. Naughty!!! He ran back to the trailer and we caught him and put him back to work. And he did it again! So then Beth put a different longe line on him as mine was a little slick. And he was put to work. He behaved pretty well after that. Then she pushed the envelope a little and was holding the whip near his face and wiggling it the tiniest bit. This was to be the "inside leg" aid... to teach him to move out. In other words.. when we are walking in a straight line and he starts to fall in..the whip moved towards his face means move back out. It's not something to spook at and it doesn't mean Go. Very much like the inside leg doesn't mean go forward.. it means go sideways. Well, he wasn't really afraid of it, but he got a little hot. But then he settled down and was good. So then it was my turn again and we were doing it right :) Yay! Oh, and Beth said that during the lessons, if he went into the trot.. that was okay. As long as it was a polite trot. She said he was figuring things out and he was confused..perhaps going forward was the answer. It wasn't what we were asking, but since he was thinking... we don't punish that. Again, he had to be polite though. No bolting obviously.
So then... since he was sorta naughty.. we gave him a mental break and then I walked him up to jump ring and made him work again. He was good still, so then he got to go back to the trailer. I unloaded Fleck and put Danny and May in the trailer together. Soooo funny!!! As frantic and freaked out as the big horses were... the babies were the opposite. They could have cared less that their "Uncles" went up to work. They were like "alfalfa hay..... sweet!". hee hee...Such good babies!
Well, then Christina had to go to work, so she had to take her horses. So poor Dan got left on his trailer alone. But he didn't care. He just hung out until Fleck and I were done. Oh, I love this kid!!!
Oh, and Beth said his movement was getting even better!!!
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