Today was so great! Aztec was very willing to hang out this evening. We started our session by practicing what she learned yesterday and the day before. I walked up, she looked, I took off away. I walked up, she looked, I petted, then took off. We did this for a few moments, then I worked her clipping the lead rope on and off. She stood perfectly still for this exercise.
Since she remembered everything from yesterday, I began asking her to move and disengage her hip. I didn't get worked up or anything. I honestly didn't care if she disengaged that much. But she did it like a champ. All I did was crouch and look at her right hip. She moved it. Just like she had done it for years. Then I asked for the left side. This was even easier, considering she didn't really care to show me her left side anyways.
Once I was satisfied with that, I asked her to disengage on the right so I could see her left side. I did the same thing I did yesterday. I walked up to her head and held out my right hand towards her left shoulder. When she stood still and looked at me, I retreated. Next I asked her to let me touch her withers. She did and I left. After three times of this, she stood for me to pet her from head to tail. But it gets better. When I retreated, SHE FOLLOWED ME. All on her own. She walked right up to me after I walked off. And she stood behind me, like she knew what I wanted. I was a pretty happy girl when she did this. (:
After she offered me this behavior, I went over to my treat bag and pulled out a small fistful of grain. Her little ears pricked and she walked up to my hand, eagerly taking the feed. So I grabbed another handful, and asked her to walk again. I put a little pressure on her lead, and instantly she took a step towards me. I let the pressure go and held out my hand full of grain. She looked at me, kind of surprised, but she didn't ask questions. She chewed for a second, then she took the grain. SHE WAS FINALLY THINKING. Praise sweet Jesus!
By the end of our session, she was sort of leading. I say sort of because I wasn't leading her like I lead my other horses. I was walking a few feet out from her, and she was walking too, so I'm calling that leading. Gotta take what I can get, you know. I also brushed her out today. I showed her the brush while she was standing still, and she took it in her mouth and made a funny face. I don't know why they think that trying to eat the brush is a good idea. I'm sure it tastes horrible from all the mud and dirt that gets on it when I use it. But whatever.
When she got finished "killing" the brush, I started rubbing my hand over her shoulder. Then I rubbed with my hand once and the brush once, alternating hand and bursh. She didn't seem to mind, so I just dove in brushing her. She seemed to really enjoy it today. I guess she's trusting me a bit more, so that's good. She didn't even bother trying to groom me again. She just lowered her head and closed her eyes. Such a cutie!
I fed Aztec her dinner from my hand, trying to get her used to accepting food from me. I want to start clicker training really soon, but first she has to get enthusiastic about taking the treats. But, from what I've seen today, she is definitely heading in the right direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment