It was sort of an impromptu thing. I haven't done much with Bleu and I need to spend time with Lilly and I have a hard time ignoring Cricket. So I hooked each horse to a 22' line and led them across the gravel drive to graze in the neighbor's field.
I got this wild thought in my head . . . it was almost one of those "hey, y'all, hold me beer and watch this" moments. I figured if all hell broke loose not one of those mares would go too far before stopping to graze. The advantage of bring a horse from a dry lot to a lush field.
I sent Cricket in front and allowed Lilly and Bleu to follow. Cricket, though somewhat under-motivated, picked up a nice trotting circle and established the pattern for the other two. Bleu wasn't to be left behind and Lilly wasn't wholly sure what the hell was going on.
The first go-round, we established a nice trotting circle game, though Lilly broke to canter a few times.
The second time, Bleu moved into a very nice canter and Lilly followed suit. A little energy to Cricket and I had all three loping together. Pretty cool!
Called it a win and allowed them to graze.
Bleu really surprised me with her canter. Especially considering the histrionics we've had in the past. I was proud of Cricket for "doing her job" and leaving the alpha mare attitude at the door. Not once - NOT ONCE - did she play a dominance game with the other two. Lilly is still learning that energy doesn't necessarily mean she has to do something. She needs to pay attention to the direction of my energy, not just the energy itself.
2 comments:
I think this is great, but I have to hate you just a little bit for having grass. WTF? It's SEVEN DEGREES here and you have a "lush field" to play in?? Yup, I hate you, just a little! ;)
It's in the high 60s/low 70s here. And the field across the drive always has grass as it's just an open field and we have permission to ride on and use the neighbor's land (approx. 190 acres).
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