Today was an exciting day for all of us. Cherie came and gave lessons to the girls (Laramie was a star!) and then we took Takoda out. She taught me how to use the bridle for longeing instead of a halter - something I had never done before. We used Tonka's bridle with the happy mouth (apple flavored) bit and Takoda had no idea what to make of the strange bit! He was excessively mouthy with it, so tomorrow I'm going to try him out on a regular metal snaffle and see if he likes that better.
Cherie has attached a chain to her longe line, another new thing for me - definitely going to have to get a chain for ours. Takoda is very used to a lead shank from his race track days. Once the chain was attached to the bridle, Cherie walked him out of the barn. This was his first time out today and also his first time out without acepromazine. I waited with bated breath to see if he would get crazy, but he acted like a gentleman. Cherie taught me how to keep his attention span with very quick transitions of walk/halt, and not to expect him to stand nicely for very long, but keep giving him ways he can succeed. I also learned to be a bit more assertive with him to stop any head pushing (into my space) immediately. This is something I have to work on - I am a little hesitant to discipline horses for fear of them becoming afraid of me or my hands! But I also see where it is necessary to prevent a bad behavior from becoming a habit.
Tomorrow I am to walk/halt him for 20 minutes two separate times. I will work on really listening to what he is telling me (communicating with each other) and on being firmer and faster with my corrections. I am REALLY excited to try what I learned today out on my own with him tomorrow. He's so smart!
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