Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Brain overload

Well the trainer came out yesterday to work with Mac. I even brought my camera to the trailer to remember to bring it to the arena with us but I of course didn't so I don't have any photos to share.

Trainer had the observation that Mac kind of knows how to get along but he isn't really "trained" (which I quickly figured out after I brought him home) and if the shit hits the fan all bets may well be off because he won't know how to be tuned in to me or how to handle himself, for example.

Trainer worked on defining space and exercises to get Mac to know that the person is the leader and Mac is the follower. He who moves his feet is not the winner. The horse has to move his feet.

He worked on moving the shoulder, moving the haunches, coming forward, moving away, longing, working "off line" in the arena, etc. My brain is kind of in overload mode so it is hard to put into words but it was very interesting to watch.

It was nice to see Mac move at liberty and I still like the way he moves. Once he relaxed, his topline rounded and he could move more freely over his back and it was lovely to watch. Mac did become very attuned to what Trainer was working on and I was interested to watch the learning process.

Trainer is coming back next week for another session. In the meantime, I will be working with Mac more on loading in the trailer and going to new places. I am really glad that he's in our family - I think working with him will definitely expand my horizons of horsemanship and I'm excited to go through this process!

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