Looking for an inside turn

Today it was cooler – not so high on the humidity.

In the round pen we worked on inside turns. You cut the RP in half and turn the horse at let’s say 12 o’clock and then at 6 o’clock. The horse will give a butt turn to the inside as a “not listening to you” and you are looking for an inside turn.

Took awhile but her reward was to rest and do nothing. Then we tried it again and it took awhile, but not as long as the first time, and then she gave me one and got a rest.

She took the canter transition easily and there were only about two kick outs through the entire session. I think she is figuring out that bucking and kicking out is not going to get the work to cease. If anything, she has to work harder as all that energy takes it out of you.

From there we went to driving with 2-lines at a walk. Much more listening at this stage after the RP work. She’s learning her turns and her whoa, and getting better at walking forward upon verbal and whip cues. I want to experiment with using the whip at her shoulder to prevent a turn with that shoulder on the inside.

She is now hesitating entering the washrack as this is not her favorite place to be. Some carrots get her in though but I’ve reduced her full bath down to places she is more comfortable with: chest, girth and front legs. I’ll see if that makes her more comfortable and willing about the whole issue; her hindquarters and tail area doesn’t get all lathered like her front end so it’s not necessary to get all of her – I just prefer to give a full bath.

Handgrazed for a bit, then back to get medicine on her neck wound. The wound from the scratching her injection knot is looking much nicer thought not 100 percent healed yet. Z’s leg wound is pretty much healed.

In email with Ivy, I’m thinking I may need to switch some of the liberty work for more controlled work with a lungeline or cotton rope. I definitely don’t like how out of control and pushing her nose to the outside she gets during RP or liberty work in the RP.

I will play around with this throughout the rest of the week.