This weekend, Rodney had a stand lesson. Not practicing the halt under saddle. Not waiting while other horses pass by. Just standing for several minutes, wearing a halter, in his own field, 10 feet from the barn.
For groundwork and eventual liberty work, I had bought Rodney a nice leather halter [Theory]. He objected to it vehemently [Slow Lane]. Since then, our lessons have been all about making peace with what most horses accept as a matter of course.
I had been putting the halter on and walking him about the pen making circles of various sizes, roll-backs, turns on the forehand, etc. Our big adventure was to put on the halter and walk out of the barn. I have no idea what he expected but I could see him radiating tension.
So we stood. I talked to him. I scratched his nose. Although he still looked at me as if I was practicing hojojutsu [formalized, decorative binding of a prisoner, Wiki], he was willing to concede that I had not sprouted fangs and attacked. Yet.
A stand lesson. We make progress at the speed of an advancing ice age.
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