Tonight we started out with our “go touch it” game. He touched a ball, some barrels and the pedestal with his nose. He had to touch what I “sent” him too. We squeezed between the pedestal and some barrels.
We played the half circle game (with my back on the fence). We tried to combine that with sidepassing. It takes a horse with some impulsion for this to work well. His impulsion isn’t quite up there enough yet in the short time we played the half circle game. I had forgotten the sidepass game until tonight. We tried to sidepass up and down the fence and we made some sideways headway.
I continued to insist on asking for a back up and then not ever taking a step forward unless I ask. I remembered tonight to let him lick his lips after each learning task. It takes him about 30 seconds to lick his lips and that’s a long time for me to be patient and do nothing.
He played the lay down and roll game. That’s a fun game for both of us. Fun for me to watch and admire his bravery and confidence and nice for him to let out the trailer ride tension. He still neighs occasionally in the trailer. He yells when we arrive at Pine Dell, but when I unload him, his feet are still. I really like that about Lucky. He yells and stands still.
Lucky Star has been a perfect little horse until tonight when I found some grumpy spots. Lucky Star gets angry when I jump up and down besides him. It happens on both sides. That’s the great thing about horses is finding the holes. If you can find a hole, you fix it. That makes you just that much safer when you do ride. That’s what these games are all about. Do it on the ground to ensure your safety and success in the saddle!
He also has an ear that he’s not fond of me touching inside it.
Jenny takes him tomorrow for a lesson and I’ll be happy to tell her about his grumpy spots!
He’s getting better at maintaining a trot on the circle game. He believes me now when I insist that he not stop. We might make it up to three circles before he stops the next time we play. I love horses that are not very impulsive until you insist!
I love Lucky Star. Hope you can come watch his lesson with Jenny tomorrow at Kitty Hawk. We’re on for 10:00am