Time with Gem

Riding in the arena, then tit for tat out front. That was interesting! He couldn't leave the area next to the barn. We didn't even make it past the driveway. My goal was only to see how hard it would be for him to leave home and it was hard! His home sweetness is hard core. I'll try to build this slowly so the foundation is strong vs. forcing him away and risking a blow-up or a break-down of his trust in me.

While in the arena, worked on the left lead and left turn cloverleaf. The left is his hard side. He's offering lots of canter departs, and I tried to get a working trot w/o the canter. He was going into the canter when I really wanted a faster trot. We'll continue to work on that. I also need more hip response for the left lead. Will try to build on the leg yield from the right to get it soft enough for left departs.

It was a nice session focused on my big black gelding.