Sara’s been working through a few forward issues with Baxter…he’s been doing a little bucking at being asked to go forward. I got him last night and worked through some of it, and today she had a very good lesson on him. He tends to be a little sulky about having a lot of leg used on him, but if he gets sulky, more leg just makes him buck. So the approach the trainer is working on right now is ask with the leg, if he ignores it he gets a verbal cue to go forward, then a tap of the whip on her leg (sound not touch) or she swishes the whip in the air so he can see and hear it. Only if he ignores the “warning” aids does he get a stronger leg aid. This seemed to work well today. He’s not a bad horse, but he does have a little bit of a stubborn side in him, especially about having contact on the right rein. He did try to buck a few times today, but Sara did a great job today correcting him quickly, then it was over and as soon as he moved forward he got lots of good boys.
Here are some really nice photos during and after their ride today. He has really beefed up and is a superb looking horse. Still not very fit and needs more muscle, but he is very well put together and let’s face it.…total equine eye candy!
