Since Rodney appears to get anxious when I lead him toward the ring, we have been breaking the process into (microscopically) small steps. In the current exercise, we walk over to the mounting block, wearing our bridle like a big horse. He stands next to it. I sit on it. We wait until he takesContinue reading “Where’d It Go?”
Category Archives: Groundwork
New Do
Yes, I have hacked Rodney’s mane off with scissors. My top hand brilliantly determined that Rodney’s behavior changes bilaterally. On a circle to the left, he would walk as calmly as possible as long as requested. On a circle to the right, he would fly into a trot at the slightest provocation. We decided thatContinue reading “New Do”
Tailspin, How Art Thou?
It’s been a while since I had good, solid snit about Rodney’s current position in the universe. So, last week I had a long wallow in pointless angst. It was a shallow puddle, but lasted most of the week. Not sure if this is better or worse that the brief but bottomless chasms of despair.Continue reading “Tailspin, How Art Thou?”
Weekend Report, Redux
At the risk of repeating myself, Rodney is still freaking out about trotting in hand, yet he lets us bop him – ever so gently – on the nose with a neon pink, plastic kickball. WTF?
Weekend Report
In addition to his regular walks, Rodney did two new exercises: 1) Trotting in hand. B) Walking through a ring. Which one do you think he handled? Saturday It was finally time to get back to the trotting in hand that got derailed two months ago by his freakout over the new halter [Slow Lane].Continue reading “Weekend Report”
Noodling with Rodney
What a wonderful horse. Hubby bought a handful of 5′ plastic “noodles” often used as pool flotations [Wiki]. Ours are a rainbow of neon colors for eventual use in ground exercises, for example, asking him to walk through an arch with noodles. The plan for the day was to bring the noodles into the field,Continue reading “Noodling with Rodney”
Rain Games
When it came time to take Rodney for his morning walk, an unnamed tropical mess was dropping massive amounts of rain from an upended bucket. Warm water, no wind, no flash bangs. Well, says I, eventing definitely happens in the rain. Jumpers and dressage may also. Off we go. I put on the Halter ofContinue reading “Rain Games”
Virtual Brush Box 