Playin' catch up

We have moved on to the Bell Internet Stick and as such I am writing this post at work! (Once the mail is sorted and all my paperwork done, it's very quiet here) Anyway, point being, I can blog regularly again!!!
Lack of internet has not kept me from working with Linus. Work and health have toned it down a bit recently but I get in what I can. I took him for a walk the other night. It was our first walk in way too long. I don't think there were too many leaves on the trees last time we were out so everything looked new to him. I tried hard to get a good picture because he looked so handsome; the sun was setting and his coat looked like it was on fire. His head and neck were up and ears alert. It would have been a great picture.
I have laid down the law with hoof handling and his feet now get picked up on a daily basis. I should have been doing this all along. What a difference the persistence has made with him. He used to sidestep a bit as I moved from one to another but the last 2 days he has remained planted in one place and has willingly lifted his foot for me. I know for most of you this is a regular occurrence because of the age of your horses. I am very pleased to have Linus at this point.
I've also had the harness on him a couple of more times too. I was going to attempt to have him pull a little sled. I got it out, put his harness in it and pulled it over to where I was going to be working him. Then I went to get Linus out of his pasture and by the time I came back my harness was strewn all over the place and the sled was gone.....who is Linus conspiring with to get him out of work??? Turned out to be Owen, my 2 year old son. While I was getting Linus, Owen came over with his little battery powered tractor, hooked the sled onto the back and took off!! He loves to pull a "wagon" so, needless to say I haven't hooked up anything yet! But that's ok. I think I want to spend more time ground driving with the harness on. I am not yet feeling like I have enough control and respect. I have also decided that for now at least with the driving I am going to put a bit in his mouth. When he is older and knows his job and what is expected of him we will try the bitless. The bitless may only have a place with riding. We'll see. I've done a lot of bit research and am hoping to head to the tack shop on my lunch break! I've also researched at what age it is recommended to first bit a horse. In true horse industry form there is every answer from 8 months on up. So, a gentle training bit ought to be fine.
Oh another thing we have worked on a bit too...well, not really worked because it was another non-event for him. But, when I've been brushing him I've been jumping up and down while I move around him. He doesn't care, he actually looked at me as if to say "What the heck are you doing?" So, then I jumped and let my body hit his sides, somewhat resembling the feel of mounting. No reaction. Then I leaned over his back, he swung his head around and looked at me then sighed.
Forgive the length of this but I have catching up to do. One more story, its funny. My dog often accompanies me to the farm to play with the Newfie there. Mine is a greyhound mix and loves the thrill of a race. She usually races us up the driveway (its very long). A few times last week Linus has raced us up the driveway too! His pasture runs parallel to the driveway the length of the main part of it. I'd love to see an aerial view of this. A car, a dog and a horse racing down the driveway. I took Owen for a walk up the driveway and Linus was feeling playful and walked along beside us. Owen giggled like mad and then started to run which made Linus bring it up to a trot, which had Owen in hysterics!!
Just goes to show how much fun you can have with them and not really be doing anything!