It was cooler last night, so I decided to lounge Cole first. I haven’t lounged him in a while, so I was surprised when he did so well in the first direction—better than ever. When I switched him to the other side, it was like he had never lounged before. We had to review it, and he did improve as we went on.
Anyway, it did what I wanted it to do—take the excess energy out of him before I rode him. He had tossed a few bucks in on the lounge line, so I definitely know the energy was there.
The problem I have had, lately, is that all he wants to do is trot. When I am riding him, when I first get on, he keeps trying and trying. I keep correcting and correcting. He tells me he just loves trotting and that’s all he wants to do!
Well, the lounging helped, because when I first got on, he walked willingly. I clicked and treated him to let him know he was doing it right. He did try trotting without permission a few times, but it was much less than he did on the last few rides.
I was able to move into the trotting part of our ride much quicker. He did better. I trotted for longer durations each time, and as I did, I felt him settle down and become more balanced. There were a few moments when I felt very connected with him. He did try to stop on his own a few times, too, but I just urged him on. Basically, he is trialing different behaviors to see what works.
His trot, even when he goes fast, is very smooth. I don’t post it at all.
One time, towards the end of our ride, he decided it was time to quit. He stopped at the doorway that leads to his barn and refused to go. I just squeezed my legs, didn’t let up and tried to shift his weight to the left and right with the reins. Eventually, he took a step and I released all the pressure. He then continued to walk on. I only rode a few minutes after that, but long enough so that he knew he wasn’t allowed to end the ride when he felt like it.
Overall, I would say there was an improvement. He gets the day off, today. I will be riding him Friday-Monday.
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1 comment:
Silly boy is testing his boundaries already. :) He's doing so well! Is there any way your sister could take a video of you two? I would love to see Cole in action. :)
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