So, today I got a lesson from T (because he's awesome). He, without saying it outright, (I'm not even sure if that was what he was trying to do... I think he might've just bee trying to help) showed me that I was doing some stuff all wrong.
Using what he showed me was quite a bit more effective than what I was doing and in the long run, I think it'll be better. He made me realize that P and I were quickly developing a "who's the boss? That's right chick, it ain't you," relationship and that would be bad for both of us.
In spite of the setback in terms of my ego (which, ultimately, is completely unimportant/irrelevant) I learned more today and Phoenix got some exercise. Yay!
T showed me how to get him haltered without the bribery (I'm looking forward to the challenge of doing this during tomorrow's session! T did it today to show me what I need to do and let me just watch and soak it up). Ultimately, it boils down to, I needed to be a little (or a lot) firmer and more clear with the cues I was giving P. Noted. Filed. I will bust my butt to do better for my guy.
After we got him haltered it was off to the round pen. P's paddock area is pretty good sized so working with him on the lead seemed reasonable the 1st couple of days but I had wondered how differently he'd act outside his paddock area and I got my answer this morning. He' does just fine but he's not BORED. He's interested in everything and that's fine by me. =D
I got another short tutorial from T who showed me how to work P in the round pen and then he left, and P and I continued for about 15 minutes (I think that I'd rather err on the side of caution and not overdo it. P hasn't really had any exercise for at least a year. It wasn't really that warm outside today and fortunately, here in SoCal the humidity is really low for most of the year, but P was still soaked after our session. I know some of it is his nervousness but I don't want to risk injuring him by working too hard. One thing T mentioned that I was picking up on even before he said as much was that it was impressive just how responsive P was once he was outside his paddock. He's so bright and willing to please, just watching him learn would be rewarding enough in and of itself.
As for myself, the only thing I KNEW w/out a doubt that I was messing up was how to cue P to walk as opposed to trot. That was our goal: to get him to do a complete circuit of the pen in both directions at a walk. When he would walk (very minimally), if I relaxed he'd stop and start stargazing but as soon as I cued him to get his butt in gear and pay attention to me, he'd start trotting again. Also, when he did walk, he'd try to cut in toward me and every time I corrected him, he'd go back out... and start trotting.
He started loping a couple of times which T had told me I should NOT do at least for the first few weeks and I could get him to slow down to a trot, no problem but the walking, that definitely had me stumped. We'll give it another go tomorrow and hopefully I'll get it right.
After the round pen, he was huffing and puffing a little so we went for a short walk. I also wanted to see how he'd act in a new/not very familiar setting and see how he'd respond to me leading him as opposed to T.
Well, he spooked just once at a plastic bag caught in a fence but he didn't bolt or really act up that much at all. He just jerked and stopped to stare and figure out what the thing was. I gave him a couple of pats waited a few seconds for him to stop snorting at the bag and then we walked on with no problems. Other than that, the only thing I can see as of now is that he crowds me a little and that's absolutely my fault. He's not aggressive about it and (kudos to him for being an awesome learner) luckily for me, he got the hint pretty quickly that I wasn't OK with it.
Boundaries. I have to remember that I need to set boundaries because if I don't, one or both of us are going to get hurt and that would be the pits.
After our walk, I tried to get P to let me brush him out (I wasn't even going to bother trying to give him a bath, though I'd have liked to but I can already tell that's going to be a little more than we're ready for). He will NOT let me groom his right side! Left side, he's just a little sketchy but it's do-able. Right side just was NOT happening. He wouldn't even let me near him with the brush and threw an absolute tantrum/fit. T had mentioned that's his "off" side and we'll have to work on it. So we will. I got him to the point that he'd stay still for a sec and let me walk on that side, unhaltered him, gave him a couple of scritches and a carrot and called it a day.
I feel like the worst person in the world. I was taught that it's imperative to make sure you never leave your horse all cakey with dried sweat and that's exactly what I was forced to do. I am not pleased with myself.
At any rate, that's that. I'm extremely tired and though not pleased with myself, I'm pleased with the progress P made today. Looking forward to getting it done tomorrow without needing someone to hold my hand.
