Day One

December 24th 2010

Ollie:
I tried using the rope twirl to keep Ollie from barging ahead on the lead, and he was very confused. He alternated stopping dead (something he still does occasionally anyway) with tossing his head and dancing away sideways. Hm. So I halted him anytime he was pushing ahead, and lots of other times too, to get them out of his system and put them back on my terms. It seemed to help. He got very good at reading my soft signals for “stop” and “go.” When we were coming home and he knew where we were headed and wanted to hurry, I tried the rope twirl again. We had better luck with me extending my arm with the end of the rope swinging gently but suggestively, or a few twirls to warn him, but he was still more confused than anything. I think maybe if I walked along a fence or wall it would help, then he wouldn't be able to lean away.

I tried going out to the end of his lead facing him, and he allowed that more easily than most of the horses at the clinic. He really did not like the jigging to back up, but eventually (very eventually!) got the idea. It took about three successes before he started chewing, and I expect it'll still need a fair bit more work. His response started coming faster, though, even if I had to jig as hard as I could.

Ollie gives to pressure better than Bo did, interestingly. I'd like to take credit, but I'm pretty sure it's just 'cus he's naturally awesome. ;)

I'm starting to use jigging slightly more naturally, but it'll take a while- I, too, still need a fair bit more work. ;)

Little Miss (and Aria):
Little Miss responded really well to the “combing” technique; I like it much better than the bum rope, it seems much easier to fully release pressure so that learning can happen faster. I'm excited. Aria seems to have gotten the idea about instant release for any try very quickly- it'll need reinforcement, I'm sure, but she's so eager to see Little Miss do well and believe in her, that she's responding very quickly to subtle tries. It was really awesome.