March 23, 2011 Side reins and steering

Rory started off fairly well today, then decided that he didn't want to walk, or halt, or actually stand still once I managed to get a halt.  He was a little distracted, and I think a little full of energy as the footing outside is varying between frozen ruts and greasy mud on a daily basis.  He didn't even offer to buck once today.  After about five minutes he was listening reasonably well and I halted him and snapped the side reins onto his bit.  They were really long so he'd have to reach out to find the limitation - and find it he did.  Even though he had to stretch his neck to get to the limit of the reins, Rory chomped and pulled for a few circles before realizing that he could just relax and the reins wouldn't be pulling on his mouth.  I allowed him to trot for several circles without any transitions while he figured that out.  We did a few transitions and then changed directions.  Rory did get a bit distracted again when he heard someone walking outside the arena, but he continued to trot around me and did come back to walk when I asked.

After the longeing I snapped my lead rope to the left bit ring and introduced the idea of steering.  I had Rory walk forward while I walked beside him just in front of his hip, and then I put a little pressure on the bit.  At first he pulled back, but almost immediately he turned his head.  His front feet tended to stop after three or four steps while his hind feet kept going until he was facing me.  I gave him a carrot and a pat for that.  When he got good at turning towards the bit pressure I started releasing the pressure after he'd started the turn and asking him to keep walking forward.  This confused him a little bit the first time, but within four or five times he was continuing to walk in the new direction as he realized that was what I wanted.  I was quick to stop him and give him a carrot after he'd taken a few more walk steps so he would still get his reward.  It still amazes me just how fast Rory will pick up on something new when I get the carrots involved.

Time flies and I forget just how big Rory has grown until I see a picture of me standing beside him.  It seems like only last year he was a tiny little fellow, and yet I expect to be getting on his back in another six weeks or so.