As well as having her feet trimmed, Mollie worked through the agility obstacles but there was a more serious point to the work. On restricted grazing but with plenty of hay, she has a tendency to pull her head down to try to get to the grass all the time. The temptation then is to have a crook in your arm so that there is a permanent pressure on her head pre-empting any attempt to get her head down.
The problem is that this just encourages her to lean even more and to practise pulling. Instead I suggested we work with a long and relaxed arm with a 'motorbike hand' which can react the instant she tries to get her head down. This coupled with an instantaneous change in direction meant that she was kept busy tracking her leader and could be given a release in the line.
She's pretty cool about all kinds of sights and sounds, here meeting a glockenspiel for the first time. If ever the Blue and Royals are ever looking for another band horse then she's their girl.
