Today we spent most of the day getting ready for the 4th of July BBQ Feast and Auction.
Late in the afternoon, I saddled him up again. He's starting to accept the saddle and act like a horse that is confident. He's just about completely quit trying to pull away from me and leave.
So I led him out into the pen that we have set up to sell the horses in tomorrow. I got on him.
Walked him around the pen. He moves out pretty well, I would like for him to be more relaxed and comfortable moving forward. He'll give me his head both ways really nicely and will tuck his nose in real soft when he's moving forward even at this stage. He's moving around fairly comfortable, he's still looking over his shoulder back into the saddle and to my legs. I kept encouraging him to move forward. He's going to be all right. Right now I am just riding him with a halter on. I have stopped him and begun to ask him to back up. He doesn't understand what I want, he's just bracing on my hands. I pull on one bridle rein then on the other never releasing, I am waiting on his feet. Still waiting on his feet. At last I felt a shift, I then gave him a complete release. I reapplied the pressure on his nose, first with the left rein, then with the right rein. When I pulled with the left rein I would bounce my left foot on his rib cage, when I pulled the right rein, I bounced my right leg on his rib cage. When I felt him shifted backwards, I quit pulling on the bridle rein, relaxed and set still on him. Wasn't too long we were backing a circle around the pen. So I got off, tied him to the fence while I went in and ate supper.
After supper I walked him around the barn awhile, unsaddled him and put him up for the night.
