Riding Lyle in the Bosal

Dear Reader,

Lyle and I continue to ride. At this time we are working on: 1. tucking, while keeping straight, to the bosal and 2. turning without "rubber necking" or getting behind the bosal. We still ride in the big hay shed and are using it as our "round pen." Lyle was made round pen sour but we still need the support of a structured place. That is why we use the hay shed. But it gives me a very large ares, even with the stored hay, in which to ride. It is actually larger than a round pen.

Later I will teach Lyle to track a big rubber beach ball. This will give him something to take his mind off of his anxiety while being ridden. But that is for later. For now, Wayne has been helping me. Wayne pretends he is a "cow" and we track Wayne part of the time. (Now this is love, Wayne even makes "mooing" sounds to help Lyle stay focused!) This tracking of the Wayne "cow" is something we do at the end of a training ride. This is because I want to save the most interesting, to Lyle that is, part until the last. That way Lyle has a good memory of the work we did.

But the best news is this, Lyle has been relaxed enough to accept discipline from the bosal without loosing his temper! That is real progress.

When Lyle becomes "hyperactive" we just slow every thing down. This is because frantic activity was one of Lyle's ways to defend himself. You would be amazed how VERRY slow an old lady like me can get! I well even move in slow motion so the he has to slow down. This slowing way down has helped Lyle while I mount him and while I dismount.

Later, I will have Wayne take pictures. I want you to see some of what Lyle and I are doing. Using the bosal has been a real learning experience because I must use it forcefully enough to get Lyle's attention and yet not so hard as to make Lyle want to fight me. And of course, NO NAGGING with a bosal. It MUST have instant release so that there is nothing for a horse to resist against.

So, please be patient. Pictures will come later. I want to literally prove to you how well Lyle is doing and a picture will help with that. Truly Lyle is a DREAM come true for me because he is forcing me to actually start to trust my own broken and crippled body again. The trust comes from setting goals that are achievable. (One of the most moving book in horse literature is Bill Dorance's book "Horsemanship through Feel." In that book Mr. Bill Dorance explains how he re-broke a rogue mare that he renamed Beauty using his own broken 90 year old body. He did this as a gift of pure love. And it worked. This book has given me inspiration and even hope.)

Thank you for letting an old lady ramble.

Sincerely,

Penny Johnson

Kootenai Curly Horses

Bonners Ferry, Idaho