Baker training session 19 - Same thing, different day

I worked with Baker for about 30 minutes on Saturday.  One of my students, Rebecca, wanted to learn some of what I do with Baker during his training sessions, and also wanted to help out, so we combined her lesson with Baker's training session.
He is usually a little more cautious when I come to see him with a visitor, so he didn't walk right up to me like he usually does.  Eventually, he will learn that most of the people that he comes in contact with will be a good thing.  Saturday went much like the last few sessions.  Once I got his halter on, we worked on leading towards the tree.  It took much less pressure from the butt rope, and he walked much more willingly.  He did try to bite me once while we were walking.  It was much less aggressive than the last time, but I still reprimanded him sharply for it.  Once he was "tied" at the tree, I started with the flyspray.  He struggled a bit more this time than he has the last few times, but he did eventually relax.  Then, I held him while Rebecca got to groom him.  He really enjoyed how she took her time and fussed over him so much!  We finished the grooming session by picking up and tapping on his feet.  He struggled a little at first, but quickly relaxed and stood still.  Once we were done with all the grooming, I led him away from the tree towards Fiona.  He did try to go a little quickly at first, but after one halt, he remembered to be patient.  I asked him for a couple more halts along the way, and he stood fairly still for them.  Once we reached Fiona, I asked him to put his head down.  He gave me the best response to this yet!  He didn't respond immediately, but he did go much lower than he previously has.
Then I took off his halter and let him go.  Another good session in the books, but I still want him to be quieter when I spray him.  You might be starting to see that, in training horses, progress is sometimes very slow.  It is so important not to rush the horse though, and this requires a LOT of patience!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gia - session 955 - lesson at CDP

 I had a lesson with Hayley today at CDP.  Gia felt great today!  We started with a nice, crisp walk, and then moved right into a forward trot.  We worked all over the ring with changes of direction and in a good, steady tempo, we also worked on lengthening and collecting the trot.  Gia was nicely obedient to everything I asked her to do.  When I first asked for the canter, I forgot to keep my arms soft, so it didn't last more than a few steps.  But the second time, I remembered, and stayed a little off her back as well.  It started awkward, and counterbent, but as I stayed soft and following with my seat and arms, she eventually figured out what to do with her body, and started to come nicely around my inside leg.  We did the same thing in the other direction (which is usually her bad direction), but it went really well!  We decided to quite while we were ahead after that!  Hopefully, this ride will carry into this weekend for the show! 
Read more

Gia - session 956 and 957 - War Horse schooling and show

 I took Gia to the War Horse schooling and show this weekend at the Carolina Horse Park.  When I got on Saturday morning, she started out quite tense - wanting to go up in the front, and up in the back as well, but not really wanting to go forward.  I finally did get her forward, eventually, and slowly, and we made it to the stadium warm up.  After warming up with some trot, and over a few jumps, we schooled the stadium course.  She was a bit nervous, but did OK otherwise.  So, on to cross country schooling.  She felt fairly the same on cross country - a little nervous, but at least by that time, she was moving forward.  She was a bit nervous about a couple of the jumps, and some of the soggy ground.  We "discussed" it, and then she was able to get over/through it.  She felt a lot more confident by the end. On Sunday, she felt fine when I got on for dressage.  I warmed her up in the grass, near the barns, first, where she could stay calmer.  She was fairly responsive and rela
Read more

Gia - session 947 - lesson at CDP

 I took Gia to CDP for a lesson today.  She was very good with her shipping boots this morning - no drama at all!.  She was also pretty good for getting on the trailer, with me on the off side.  She did get her head a little stuck on the wrong side of the divider, but I quickly got it unstuck, and she was good to go. I warmed Gia up deep and low at the walk and trot with lots of changes of bend and direction, all over the ring.  She was a bit spooky and resistant, but we worked through it, and she started to settle down, relax, and stretch her neck out a little.  I added canter transitions, and those went fairly well.   Susan worked with us today.  She had me focus on Gia's rhythm and the timing of her footfalls at all gaits.  She also had me focus on my straightness in the saddle and my alignment with Gia, as well as Gia's straightness on the circle, and through changes of direction.  We worked through transitions between the gaits, and they gradually improved, and I felt Gia
Read more