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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
I am so happy with Marley's progression under saddle since our ride yesterday. I brought the clicker back to to the riding portion of our training, and I really saw a difference. I started off with a short target training session and some touch work around his ears before tacking him up. He was much more relaxed right off the bat and walked forward confidently for the first time with very little aid. I embraced this new forward-moving Marley and when he broke to a trot a few times I let him go and stayed out of his face. I have kept all of my riding sessions really short, about ten minutes a piece, so our goals are really small for any given session. I really want Marley to understand what I'm asking him to do before we really start "working".
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
Today's small victory was understanding contact on the reins. Since Marley was actually moving forward very willingly, I was finally able to hold a steady, light contact that he could move in to. After a couple of minutes of tossing his head around (which is why I'm glad I don't have a bit in his mouth for this), he realized that when he stayed steady, there was never any pressure on the reins. Towards the end he even started to put some weight into my hand. I was able to do two controlled "S" turns before we left it at that for the day.
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
After a great training session and of course lots of praises, it was bath time! I wasn't sure how far I would get, as Marley has only really had his legs hosed down during some de-sense work in the wash rack. It was so warm and there was no wind, so I decided to go for it, and if he only got a partial bath, it would be ok. In the end though, Marley was great and aside from dancing around a little bit, it was a successful shower! The only thing I didn't mess with was shampooing his tail as he is still a little bit unpredictable and I didn't want to scare him. He also
loves playing in the water. Katherine got some great photos of him being a goof, and I can't possibly choose between them so I'm going to just post them all. I couldn't believe the difference it made and I got so much hair off of him, I can't wait to see what he looks like with a sleek summer coat!
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
Drying off after his first bath!
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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| Photo by Katherine Payne Photography |
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