Well Spirit and I are still doing well. We still get about four or five hours in a week. We were doing so good before the Thanksgiving Break. The things that I was really excited for was Spirit was reading my energy level a lot better, I was focusing my energy into always positive direct energy, I was getting better at helping him familiarize himself with new things, he stands still a little better for me to get on, and he was maintaining a trot for at least three laps. We were working on a lope before I left for the Thanksgiving break and he would at least do it without me using a savvy string. Now that I am back I went to work with him today we got almost an hour in. There was Hillary, Carlee, and myself out there. I thought that it would be faster for me to just catch him and work either on the ground or ride bare back. Also they were working with a bob cat in the arena so I thought Spirit would be a little difficult to engage. So I went and go him from his pen and when I came up to his pen he was standing by the gate waiting for me. I love those moments when he wants to go play it makes me feel so good. Then we went into the big scary green barn, well that's the way Spirit sees it.
Oh did I mention that Spirit is freaked out about the barn, but I think I figured out a way to help him. Spirit loves to eat I have found because on the way from and back to his pen he is always trying to stop and eat the hay laying on the ground. So I decided that if I pick some up and take it into the green barn with us then feed him it once he is tied up. By doing this I am hoping the green barn will start registering in his head as somewhere where he can get a treat. Thus far it has helped. He is not completely calm yet unless there are other horses with him but at least he hasn't freaked out again.
So back to today. Well I just had a halter on him and we went into the arena. I went in not paying attention to the workers and bobcat and just started to ask him to do things. He was doing amazing and was not scared in the least from the workers, noise, or open door. So, I jumped on bareback and started to ask him to go around barrels and poles. He had a fabulous bend and was so so so soft around the barrels. Well, okay he wasn't perfect around it but he was softer than he has ever been. I tried to focus a lot on being precise in my ques and using my feet and hands correctly. Then we went up and down the bridge and worked on the front yields and back yields. He does them so well with just a little bit of hands and kinda a lot of leg. I think there is potential for both of us in that area. Then we worked on trotting which was harder for me because I am not that good bareback. Spirit seemed to be okay with it and kept a nice gait. I figured since he was doing so awesome that I would try a lope. The first couple of times I asked he did not want to do it. Then he did for a little distance. So, we just repeated this pattern until he was tired. We rested a while and then tried again. He seemed a lot more willing to pick up gaits. Probably because he wanted to go back to his pen and be done. He volunteered a trot and went for a longer time in a lope. I was so excited and it was great for me because I practiced sitting the lope since he has a weird one for me to stay with. So all in all today was another successful day and bareback was scary sometimes but a good choice for both of us.
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