A close Call

Dear Readers,

     It has been very cold up here in the wilds of northern Idaho.  Because of that Dec. 10 was the last time that I rode Lyle.  But the weather will warm up fairly soon.  It always does eventually!

   Because of the cold I have been working with the colt named Blaze.  We worked on tying, and sacking out and yielding to pressure.  It is interesting because yielding to pressure can mean to stop applying pressure when he relaxes under that pressure.  That is really what sacking out is all about.  I used my soft lass rope and gently tossed it over his head.  When I do this I am careful to toss it so that it comes towards him from the side and then down, settling over his poll and then over his face.  I want the lass rope to come from a little ways above his head so that it does not encourage him to raise his head but rather to lower his head.  We worked at this until his eyes were soft and liquid.  Once he had yielded to the pressure of the lass rope by relaxing, I stopped tossing it.  In effect he had taught me to stop tossing the rope by his own yielding to that tossed rope.

   Tomorrow I will work with Penny's Lyle on mounting a platform.  Actually this will help him to stand still for mounting when I start riding him again.  Standing still on the platform will also help him to control his impulses.  I will try to include a picture of this.  We will not start with a raised platform.  Rather we will start with just a square piece of plywood that will represent a "home base" for Lyle.  But more about this tomorrow.

Thank you,

Penny Johnson

Kootenai Curly Horses

Bonners Ferry, Idaho