School is back in full swing so I was on a limited time schedule today which was fine because I have been thinking about transitioning Marley into the large arena. It worked out really well today as the person riding in the arena didn't mind sharing with us (I have to be mindful of other riders and their horses as I board Marley) and we got some great training done. I tied Marley up on the inside of the arena to groom and tack him up while the other rider rode around us. Marley was a little nervous at first having another horse trotting and cantering around but pretty soon he relaxed and ignored him completely. After some ground work with his feet (we're getting ready for a hoof trim) and target work, I wanted to see how Marley would lunge outside of the round pen. He stayed really calm with the other horse working around him, and while it took him some time to figure out a nice smooth circle (it was more like a small square at first) he improved and became much softer on the end of the lead. I think I'm going to set up an obstacle course tomorrow to really get Marley thinking, so I'm hopeful that not many people are out using the arena. It should be really fun.
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| So sick of this wind!! Marley doesn't mind it... |
Target Practice with Marley and "Bow" approximations
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| Good Boy! |
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| Marley is much more comfortable putting his head low to the ground now, a big improvement |
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