I also need to build his circles and gait maintenance. I was able to get 3-4 canter circles before he broke gait, which is an improvement. I'm using DE's technique of COD every time he breaks gait. This technique is VERY effective at getting him to stay on the circle and maintain his job. Neat stuff.
Afterwards, I hosed him down and took him into the round pen. I'm trying to use "scan and capture" to teach him to lay down when I ask. For now, I paw the soft sand when he does and when he goes down, I give him treats. He's so smart - I expect him to figure this out in no time.
Fun session!
Then, I spent some time with Tina while coaching a student. This was great for Tina and me. I wanted to ride Tina through the lesson, but I'm not positive she's relaxed enough and I didn't want anything too exciting to occur during the lesson, so I stayed on the ground and demo'ed some of the things I wanted the student to do using Tina. Tina did great for me! After the coaching, I got on Tina and we did a nice trotting session. She seemed relaxed and back to normal, so I think we're back on track. I asked for a canter, but she felt tight going into it so I brought her back down and stayed in the trot. We'll canter tomorrow.
Chrissy had Cowboy out today and had a change to try the sheepskin seat cover I bought her for her birthday. She seemed to like it! I sat in it and I was definitely a huge improvement over her hard seat. I think I need one now... :-)
A nice afternoon with horses and a student.
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