Just Plain Hard Work!

Dear Reader,
Not much to report. Lyle and I continue to work. I continue to try and prove to him that I intend to, and always will, honor the covenant of pressure and release. Lyle at time does well out on trail. At other times, as yesterday, he decides to run away with me and is both cold jawed and cold sided. (Trust me, we have had some real interesting and "Western" rides.)
Lyle is, however, emotionally stable enough now so that I can round pen him. This is in and of itself a big improvement. However, I use Marv Walker's round penning technique, it is called The Bonder. In this teaching tool, the handler does NOT chase the horse around the pen making it turn. Rather the human claims a part of the pen as the space that belongs to the human, as herd leader. Then the human moves the horse. The horse may not enter the space that the human has defined as it is being moved by the person. (It is real interesting. ALL horses understand intuitively exactly where this space is. They just KNOW.) The human will, from time to time, move their personal space. The horse always knows intuitively where the human has moved that space to. The human just, in the beginning, keeps that horse moving but it may NEVER enter the human being's claimed personal space. It is also good to never allow the horse to make a turn that is away from the human, that is an outside turn. All horse turns must be, if possible, towards the human. What is so interesting is that this Bonder works and it can be done at a very slow walk. The human can do it without ever having to move fast. (I am unable to run any more. So I like being able to do it at a walk.)
So Lyle and I have been doing Marv Walker's "The Bonder." I will continue to ride him under saddle. Will report back to the RAC blog how Lyle does. Please wish me and Lyle well.
Sincerely,
Penny Johnson
Kootenai Curly Horses
Bonners Ferry, Idaho USA