Friday, May 22, 2009

Liberty with Gemini

It's been 2 overly busy days of personal life and I havne't gotten time with my equines. Today was rainy and chilly, but I just had to get Gemini moving. He's not happy standing around and 2 days is too many.

I got the hay out and then took Gemini into the round pen. I haven't done anything at Liberty with Gem in many months, so decided to give it a try. He needed it! He ran, went straight up in the air, bucked a little, snorted a bunch and generally worked some of the willies off. He wasn't hungry, but he felt like finding something to nibble. Then, I just asked for the 7 games at Liberty and got them easily! He left a few times, but I wasn't surprised - we've done so little development in this area. He was learning that coming right back was a good idea.

After some time, I took him into the big arena. I was curious if he would play stick to me with that much space available. He tore off at first and I kept Zone 5 pressure on and after some time, he had it figured out and stuck with me. It was very cool! After a solid 45 mins of moving between the round pen and the arena, I took him to the barn for some trimming. I didn't get him done because the kids were calling me into the house, but it was a great session with him and my fondness for him continues to grow. I also really think he's greatful for the time I've been putting in. His trust factor is definitely improving and he's more eager to please than I ever remember. I know that I'm a better horseman now, too. Maybe this is just our time to sort it all out. Maybe I've needed the past 2 years to build my skills and be ready to take him as far as possible. Who knows - I'm enjoying it!

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