Day 3 & 4

Well Lindsay has taught me to lounge..I expected she'd teach me lots, but I wasn't really expecting her to teach me to run around in circles like a horse on the lounge line! I just know my other guys are Lovin' this :) They are probably all cheering Lindsay on from their pastures.... saying make her go faster, faster .. hehehe..

By the end of day 2 Lindsay was allowing me to approach her and touch her somewhat still, but she had not really joined all the way up with me. She had not walked all the way up to me with confidence. Now she would face me no matter what, I could send her off around the pen then ask her to come back in towards me and she would turn and face me stepping towards me a few steps, but come no closer than 6 feet or so of me on her own accord. She would tolerate me approaching her, but I really wanted her to come to me.. all the way...so that's how she began teaching me to lounge!

I decided instead of continually trying to touch her I would really focus on her following me everywhere around the pen and focus on seeing what all I could get her to do in the meantime. She seems to love this game and is quite good at it...she is determined to face me, so where-ever I put my body, she follows. If I run really fast in a circle around her she will even do gorgeous turns on the forehand super fast....if I run around her and move away a little at the same time pulling her a bit towards me she pivots on her hind end and crosses over in the front in doing a beautiful roll back! This is quite excited to watch, but hilarious as well because somehow our Mustang has me doing all the work! I am ok with that, if running in circles makes her more comfortable trusting me I'll gladly do it all day long.

It does seem to be making since to her and gradually she is becoming less cautious of me and as I step side to side in front of her she gradually begins to take steps closer and closer in. During our last session today I took the soft rope and coiled it up in my hand and as I was asking her to turn on the haunches (by stepping into her shoulder as you would in a Showmanship pattern) as she was turning I would gently touch her shoulder with the rope...at first she would speed up, but I would attempt to keep the rope on her shoulder until she began to slow, as soon as she did I would take the rope away and change direction which asked her to change direction as well and come back towards me. We did this quite a bit until she would actually stop and let me rub her shoulder and barrel with the rope. I was careful that each time I felt she was more accepting of the rope than the last I would step back away from her and have her walk towards me again. With each time her steps towards me became more confident.

She is still not totally comfortable walking all the way up to me, but is getting more confident each session and we are doing some fun dancing in the meantime! I even asked her to step over a pole as I asked her to come towards me and she wasn't bothered by it at all. I am so very ready for her to fully "Join up" and walk confidently all the way to me, but I am willing to let her take her time and do it as she truly trusts me. In my book there is no other way.