Session Two

I had some time to play with Eclipse today and we had a very productive session. I noticed that he was uncomfortable with the carrot stick around his back legs (he would kick out and jump away at the same time) so I spent a good amount of time desensitizing him to that. He became more confident in this session but I definitely want to expose him to this and leading by the leg as I can only imagine how he would react if his leg were to get caught on a vine or something. Next I decided to try some lateral flexion and although he was confused at first, he picked it up rather quickly. I asked Eclipse for some circles as well and he stayed left brain the majority of the time. Currently I am just working on "don't change direction" and have let him pick gait; he tries to come in or stop sometimes when he is behind me but other than that he did well. Eclipse is a lot of fun to play with and he is getting more confident by the day.

Our "First" Session

Eclipse has been here for almost a month now and today we had our "first" session. I have been getting out a few times each week but have been taking things slow since his foundation has so many holes in it. My first goal was for him to develop a positive association with people and to accomplish this, most of our time together has been undemanding time. Calatar has been setting a good example and with the help of the catching game, Eclipse now approaches me enthusiastically in the pasture. Eclipse halters nicely, is making improvement with ground tying, is much better about picking up his feet, and is getting accustomed to fly spray. All this is well and good but until today I had not had a real play "session" with him. This actually worked out well because it allowed my new client to watch and see just how quickly horses respond to natural horsemanship. 

Today I introduced him to games 3, 4, and 5 (in day to day life we have already used games 1 and 2 quite a bit). The driving game went well however he did show opposition reflex, in the form of a kick or two, when I asked him to yield his hind quarters. Eclipse picked up the yo-yo game quickly and  he did alright with the circling game. He was more confident going to the left and had a few right brain explosions but it wasn't bad for his first time. All in all, it was a really great session and I am amazed at Eclipse's ability to regain his trust in people. What is most exciting is Eclipse seems to have some play in him and it looks like he might be innately left brain extrovert. I can't wait to see what the future holds and only time will tell...