Not so calm...
Having got Staro walking out very nicely down toward the village over the last few days; I decided it was time to see if he'd calmed down and got more willing to listen to me again generally, or if it was just going in a direction he was getting familiar with that was calming him down.
So, instead of heading down the lane, we headen on up towards the woods. The track leads past his field, and past the field with the neghbouring horses, past pigs and cows and sheep. And Staro was right back on his toes again. Hmmm. Unfortunately had to give him a couple of pretty hard belts across the chest to stop him prancing over the top of me. For one moment I thought he was actually going to just flatten me (he certainly gave the impression he was considering it) so opted to overreact and get in there first. Which certainly got his attention back on me enough that our walk back down the lane was considerably more sedate. Would be really nice if he'd respond to me trying to get his attention gently but when he goes into that silly headspace, it seems that only a good wallop is enough to remind him that actually I'm not there to be walked over.
Did some nice, subtle, low energy backing, and shoulder yields, and quarter yields when we got back to the field. Proving that when he's actually calmed down and is prepared to listen, he is perfectly capable of exhibiting extremely good manners after all.
Very frustrating.
On the other hand, I'm having a great deal of fun with little Saffy on our outings. She's a very cute little pony. But more about that another time....
So, instead of heading down the lane, we headen on up towards the woods. The track leads past his field, and past the field with the neghbouring horses, past pigs and cows and sheep. And Staro was right back on his toes again. Hmmm. Unfortunately had to give him a couple of pretty hard belts across the chest to stop him prancing over the top of me. For one moment I thought he was actually going to just flatten me (he certainly gave the impression he was considering it) so opted to overreact and get in there first. Which certainly got his attention back on me enough that our walk back down the lane was considerably more sedate. Would be really nice if he'd respond to me trying to get his attention gently but when he goes into that silly headspace, it seems that only a good wallop is enough to remind him that actually I'm not there to be walked over.
Did some nice, subtle, low energy backing, and shoulder yields, and quarter yields when we got back to the field. Proving that when he's actually calmed down and is prepared to listen, he is perfectly capable of exhibiting extremely good manners after all.
Very frustrating.
On the other hand, I'm having a great deal of fun with little Saffy on our outings. She's a very cute little pony. But more about that another time....