Crazy always looks pleased to see me even if the work we are doing is really hard for him. Continuing on from yesterday, I was able to put a bit into his mouth today and keep it there by rather unorthodox means; he takes the bit into his mouth and I gently move it up into the corner of his mouth so that it stays there just for a little while - otherwise he holds it for a little while and then spits it back out. At first he did back away in alarm, as if waiting for it to really hurt him, but as soon as he came forward again - something he has a choice about - I was able to give him a treat to say thank-you. This is followed by more treats to encourage him to relax about having something in his mouth even if he doesn't particularly like it. The telling thing is that each time I lowered the bit out of his mouth he would take it back into his mouth again. I repeated this several times, with a few breaks in between, and he grew more relaxed about it each time. You can see I am using the leather bit again so that there is no danger of him clanging his teeth on it or it feeling cold to the touch.
Saw this gorgeous filly on my way back to the fields. Hopefully she will have the whole of her life out on the Forest.
Final stop of the day back with Jackie and Kesali who are working on a calm trot on the long reins. Like a lot of ponies, Kesali divides his circle up into three styles - relaxed, tense, and something in between. By thinking 'yes!' whenever he is relaxed, rather than trying to correct the less perfect sections, it is possible to extend the bit that you like until you get it all the way round.
