Moving On

Cal showed interest in me from further away than ever before, walking towards me, though he didn't come all the way.  When he caught me, I spent some time just playing friendly game.  At first it was brilliant.  He stood with me, licking and chewing like mad, seeming extremely content.  Until he turned and walked away.  Hmmm...I followed him, he stopped, I stopped.  He looked at me, licked and chewed, and came over.    Then left again.  I did my best to recapture his interest, and then haltered up.  I'm almost positive he was left-brained and should have moved on after all his initial intrigue.

He was more willing to move his feet today that he has been at the beginning of sessions, but he still reached points where he seemed like he was hiding in himself a bit.  I did my best to ask for more, while paying attention and waiting if he needed it.  We were in the house pasture, so I had to make my way through the lane to get to the arena.  That went quite well, and once in the arena pasture, I asked him to move more and he became a lot more willing to move his feet.

As with yesterday, he became right-brain extroverted.  Nonetheless, his confidence is still growing, and I was able to send him into the arena through the man door, rather then opening the garage door.  I had a minor panic attack, wondering if I was pushing things too much.  (I had already spent quite a while with him just getting to the arena, and I wasn't feeling as confident that I was connecting as much with him today as the past few days.)  In any case, I headed on over to my barrels and just set him on the figure-8 pattern.  He's starting to get it, but he still gets moments where he goes and stops in front of the barrel rather then keeping going around it.  I kept at the pattern until I could easily drive and draw with equality, he blew some and had a more relaxed posture, and he totally got the pattern and was able to maintain a trot throughout it.

That helped a lot, but I still didn't feel as connected with him.  I played with my usual things to help.  Touch it, sideways, backing, etc.  I've been really trying to see how much I can ask him to do at phase 1, so he has to put more effort and try into things.  I've been sending him at a trot to find and stand on the tarp or pedestal from further away.  Been seeing how easily I can get him to go stand by the trailer.  Playing with if there's a jump, does he look for it and go over, or avoid it.  All these things improved throughout the session.  Especially going over a small jump.  He avoided it at first, and ended up with some awesome, relaxed, left-brain, phase 1 sends going over it.

And I played with my circling game as usual.  This was actually really improved.  When I asked for a trot at the far end of the arena, my circle was actually pretty round...he wasn't coming closer to avoid the scary end of the arena.  Cantering is slowly improving.  I have been playing with it just asking him to canter again when he breaks gait, and it has been getting there.  That's how I started today, and got 3/4 a lap to the left.  But as I had him going to the right and he just kept breaking gait, I decided it was time for a change in strategy.  So next time he broke gait I changed direction and sent him on.  That was all it took, and I got a much more energetic, fluid, canter to the left that Cal was able to maintain easily.  I disengaged him at a lap, but he would have done more, I think.

At the end of the session I felt a lot more connected to him.  He was more relaxed and thinking.  But the total amazing connection I had at the end of yesterday wasn't there.  So I walked him back to the other horses, afraid if I let him go at the arena he might think only of leaving to find the herd.  He might not have...we were on the borderline of really awesome, just never quite crossed it.

Today was big for me...knowing when I have to move on, and at the same time, when to back off after you've done so.