Well, today started great!
I got up, didn't even start the day with my mandatory cup of tea, and headed out to feed all of the horses. My plan was to feed them all, then head inside for breaky and cuppa, then start on the training.
Feeding all but done, and Phil arrives in the lounge room. Has to go to town (Coffs) to sort something out, and then head down to Macksville to pick up a saddle repair. I think why not, ill go for a run, do the training when we get back. HMMM doesn't always happen this way!
Arrived back home at about 12 noon - after shootin the breeze with the saddler (at least I got my cup of tea!), not much time left, I decide to work with Dicko first (who i now affectionately refer to as clifford - if anyone remembers the "clifford the big red dog" from the kids books. Put him on the 22 foot line (thankfully no trouble catching him today - poor Phil had a different story as his old horse Al was obviously motivated from yesterdays 'catch me if you can' game and not being caught yesterday as he wasn't the horse i was catching! - sorry darlin!) Anyway, put him on the 22, started doing some nice big circles, just wanted to stretch him out, and see how responsive he is at this distance. I use the 22 for a couple of reasons 1; is to check to see if i can still have a conversation with the horse at that distance (normally we work off a 12 foot - but I'm loving my 22 at the moment), and 2; to let the horse have a stretch out and a play - to keep him at a safe distance, or finally to get a real nut job away from me (safety first!).
So Dicko's over on the 22 - and hey, conversations not working well. To give him a break this is only the 3rd time I've laid hands on him - so not a great deal could be expected. So I make the 22 a little shorter, get some nice circles at the trot, disengage his hindquarters and change direction a few times. Find another thing to work on (the disengagements aren't that great) and keep on working. I call him in and rub him a heap of times, and move to a bigger area where I can ask for a canter and let him take the full 22. And it works :) he happily cantered around me, had a squirt a couple of times but didn't try and run with me at all, kept the rope loose but galloped in a couple of spots and had a lark - great! I am happy to see that he is happy to have a bit of a run around, and I'm sure not going to punish him for it. I just check the phone line - see if he's still talking to me, and yep comes back to a trot just as nice as you please. I'm totally happy with that, so we stand still and shoot the breeze for a while (he doesn't talk that much but he's a great listener!), and I head to the shade to try something new.
Yesterday when I was doing basics with my stallion, I thought about the importance of the sideways movement, so today, dicko and I tried a bit of sideways. Took him a while to get the hang of it, but the exercise was super good for his hindquarter yields, and we managed a few complete yields sideways with legs crossing appropriately. Good job dicko:) so I'm happy again and we shoot the breeze some more. I really like to hang with them when they try, and just chat away and rub them etc, i certainly enjoy the time, and he wasn't complaining too much.
So, happy enough with the boy, and running out of time, I head down to the juniors. Decide not to work with Cooper today, as he is still a little lame. So equipped with my 22 and a halter and stick, i head through Coopers paddock on my way to the yards. I go to say hello to him, and when he sees me coming, he says, not today thanks. I say hey Coops you don't want to run today because I'm not here to work you anyway, so he runs.
Off I go following him, and he doesn't get very far. Once he gets to the top of the paddock, he turns around and heads on back towards me. So for that, I show him the ropes and halter, give him a rub and leave him alone. Cool, that doesn't seem like much but I think its a good deal for him to see me with all the gear, and not actually be caught.
So, I arrive down at the youngsters paddock and they come flying over for a look. They always put a smile on my face they are just so happy to see you and want to follow you around - I love the curiosity! Anyway, I halter squizzy (thats her in the pic - today was without the saddle though) and set about letting her have a go on the 22. Can she back up all the way to the end of it without much fuss? Yes. Can she come forward to me without me dragging her? Yes. Can she circle around me at the trot, disengage then go back the other way then come in? Yes.
Oh squizzy is just my star! So I chill with her for a bit - she loves to just hang around and chat. Then I decide to work on some led stuff with her. We have a heap of shows coming up in the area and I would like to show her in the led classes, so off we go. Can she walk next to me? Yes. Can she stop next to me? Yes. One little thing that she does do that I'm not fond of is pull a cranky face when she trots. She does a few strides and then relaxes into it, but just at the start she pulls this horrid face. My solution to this is each time she relaxes, I ask her to stop. Hopefully she will soon learn that the sooner she relaxes into a nice frame, I let her rest. Well ran out of time about here - Phil calling me so we can head into his school, will work on them again tomorrow :)
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