I've gone back to sitting with the horses each day, just reading a book. Lucky has decided his place is to stand over me sleeping, and run the other horses away when they come over to see me. He's an interesting character...
In the ring, Lucky and I are still negotiating our relationship. He is very quick to get upset, dramatic and defensive. I find my requests must be subtle, and I must give him lots of space. I added treats to our sessions, and playing with walk, stop, stand and come with treat and scratch rewards. Ben and Poco watch this with great interest. In fact Ben was quite vocal when I played with him that he should be getting treat rewards also.
I read about someone who rewarded the spectator horses as well as the playing horse for each accomplishment, only to find that the spectators had learned the same lessons from watching. So, I'm adding that to our routine to see what Poco and Ben pick up.
Now that Ben is back to normal weight (after his dental issues) I'm riding him 20 minutes daily to get him back in shape. In his mid-20s, we are taking it slow. He seems happy to be out and about. We had a lovely short ride tonight and I watched the sunset while he munched grass.
Until next time, enjoy sitting with your horses on these lovely fall days!
Carrie & the boys
