Whoo Hoo....

Awesome training day last night with Mr. Charmer!

I had tied him of course before we headed to the round pen (that my neighbor so wonderfully lets me use any time I need to-did I mention that I have a great neighbor...that can't be said by many people. I hope whenever we do decide to move, we have good neighbors near us). I got him leg wrapped and started to head over. He decided that going over the bags at his feet wasn't going to happen and proceeded to sort of plow into me to keep from walking over them...um, we had a very sharp lesson on how not to run into humans and then we had a more calm lesson on how he will walk nicely beside said human and cross the bags nicely without fuss. The whole lesson took about 10 minutes...not bad...

So again we headed over to the pen, of course crossing again the horse swallowing bags with calmness...maybe they won't swallow him after all.

I worked him a little while, then bridled him up and did some bit work. I grabbed my friends old trusty saddle and saddled him up. Let him work around the pen for a while with that on and then I got up in the stirrups on both sides a few times, laid across the saddle and had him walk forward a little...no big deal to him...he was totally relaxed and even turned to check out what I was doing up there. So I stood back in the stirrup, gently swung my leg over and lightly landed in the saddle. He just stood there waiting for the next thing to happen. Like it was nothing. I jiggled around a little and then asked him to back for me. Which he did willingly (better than he did from the ground I might add! LOL). Then I asked him to move forward. This one has always been his area of hesitance. He always wants to look left and right to see me back there, though he would move forward, but it was funny to watch us doing this...smooch smooch, tap tap, him walking with his head swinging to one side then the other trying to see me back there, looking like some drunken sailor. LOL.

He did it though and without looking back at me at all...he just walked on a few steps, I stopped him, backed him up again and dismounted...he looked at me like 'Was that it?' Not hardly buddy! LOL