Piper's training is progressing nicely. I'm currently reading through a Clinton Anderson book on starting young horses. A lot of it I have already done with Piper, but it is good to go back through and pick up on points I might have missed and to do some refresher work. I use training videos as well, but I really like having a book I can stop and re-read something and earmark the page and go back to it later.
One of the things I've been working on lately is The One Rein Stop. Basically, an "emergency brake". It simply involves pulling the horse's head around to the side using one rein, with the idea being that if their head is turned to the side they cannot continue forward motion. Piper flexes nicely to both sides, so this has been relatively easy for her to learn. GOOD THING.
Sunday as I was riding her in the round pen we had our first little "rodeo" moment. We were riding around nicely when all of a sudden she decided that really wasn't what she wanted to be doing anymore. She gave me 2-3 good bucks until I was able to get my hand down the left rein and pull her head around. It worked! She stopped her silliness and stood perfectly still. We had a little "chat" for a minute, then continued on with no problems. We were able to end the lesson on a good note.
And, I didn't have to eat any dirt. Bonus!
I still see her as this little baby I brought home almost 2 years ago:
Uh, yeah... not so little anymore!
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Not so little, and too big for her britches! We'll continue working on that...
