Shine
Shine is visually more balanced after doing some bending practice
for a few days (see * below for details on the bending). It’s a good way to
wake up the muscles, get the blood flowing, and the brain engaged. Shine has
always liked groundwork, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. I think,
especially with Shine, that having a groundwork day once or twice per month is
really going to help him stay nimble.
* We do the bending
in their stalls, so they don’t get going too fast. We use the western split
reins looped through the cinch to remind the horse to keep his head toward the
center. The inside rein is much shorter than the outside rein, causing the horse
to get a pull on the inside if they don’t keep the bend in their body. We
suggest starting out with only a slight pull and working up to him keeping his
head more toward the center.
Soot
Soot is getting much better at leading. We usually don’t go
too far before we work him, but from his stall to the close round pen has been
working well. Been working on walk/trot transitions and trot/canter
transitions. The trot/canter transitions still need more work. We have been
using the nylon halter for Soot, but we recently switched back to the original
rope halter. We do have more control with the rope halter, and we get a better
response rate from him too. We have also figured out how to allow him to pull
the tire evenly by using 2 calf ropes (one of each side). That way the tire
follows along behind him rather than to the inside.
