That's how it went when I took Linus out for our first drive in about a month. To his credit, we did go in a direction in which I have never driven him. I have walked with him that way but at his head not from behind! It really allowed me to see how much confidence he pulls from me being at his head. We did a trip up the length of the road (handy that the farm is at one end and not in the middle!) which equates to 3 km. He remembered the extra spooky blowing plastic at the neighbour's house. But he surprised me by going by it with my encouragement. He held his own til a little bit further up the road where of all the silly things for him to not be sure he wanted to walk by: cows!! Linus, you crazy fool you live with them!! But, i guess when you get used to a herd of solid black a mixed herd including everything from herefords to belted galloways would throw one for a loop! I found it funny that he wasn't sure about the cows but didn't even bat an eye go by three furiously barking dogs, one of which ran out at us. Again, Tess was in tow too so he is used to having a dog accompany us on our journeys. We also went past a neighbour using a generator which started to chug for more fuel. That didn't spook him or even interest him for that matter. Once we reached our turnaround point, Linus decided he was more interested in eating new grass on the roadsides than listening to what I wanted. So, we had a few lessons in who was the leader and eventually he got the hang of my cues. I try really hard to give them before he acts out and correct it before he actually does something. It works really well for me that way. So on the way back I spent equal time leading as I did driving all the time thinking of the other amazing driving stories that keep coming up here on the RAC blog...something for me to aim for!! I am proud of him anyway. He is still very young and we are learning together. I've never driven a horse before owning Linus.
We had a great day out and now he'll get a few days of rest. We'll just focus on grooming and hoof-picking-up.
Have a nice week everyone, supposed to be a nice one for weather!
The RAC began in 2007 and continued until 2015. It was created to unite all curly horse owners to encourage and motivate each other and to promoting the breed. Participating riders earn points to win amazing prizes. This blog was created to share with others their personal journey with each other and the public. *This blog is not a training blog and any techniques or methods shown here are not necessarily enforced by the RAC. Consult your trainer for advice. http://curlyhorsecountry.com
You are doing SUCH a great job with Linus; I love hearing about your adventures and trials because it is a journey training a baby. Yes, AhD lives with cows but is wary of strange cows, whether they look like "his" current cows or not. However, I remember once I was riding him with 4-5 friends when AhD was maybe only 5 years old or so. A LARGE herd of curious cows thundered over to us, only separated by one strand of rusty barbed wire and a back road. Well, it freaked out ALL the other horses, but I was relaxed, so AhD just stood there with his eye on the herd, behaving himself. He was my daughter's horse at the time, and we had him up for sale due to his small stature...but that was when I decided that maybe he was the horse for ME, so I took him off the sales listings. ;)
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