Fun!

Well, we had a fun time today, we started neck reining with Merlin. This is a gentle introduction to long reining, where the long line is attached to a strap around the neck, instead of the head. I wanted to give this a go, because I wanted to see how well Merlin responds to voice aids. He leads very well from the head and halts and backs up well with hardly any commands as I've taught him to follow the parelli methods. This means that I only use my voice occasionally to reinforce the request.

So, we were walking around the school, Andrew leading and me on the long line. Andrew wasn't giving any commands, but I was. It was ok until the line, which was whipping around like a noisy flag, touched Merlin on the flank. 'Shot from a gun' sprang to my mind. But he didn't run off, oh no. He surged forwards so that Andrew could save him, or at the least distract the monster that was chasing him! We quickly regained control and I spent 5 minutes on either side, stroking Merlin with the line, all over. No problem, he said, and we carried on. This time, all of the control came from me and Merlin was really paying attention, especially as I've never moved him forwards from the hindquarters before. When I wanted him to stop, I just gave a tiny tug on the line, which pulled the neck rein, told him to stand and he stopped instantly. Was he pleased with himself? I think you could say that, especially after much fuss and cuddles. The whole session took less than 15 minutes, but he believed he'd earned his lunch!

He's very enjoyable to teach, as he picks everything up so quickly. I'm glad I decided to do this instead of lungeing, as I've got far more control and it's a much gentler start to schooling. The backing was going well, but not something I want to do every day, especially when the weather is so appalling. I need to build on that a little at a time. Now that I'm finding what works best for Merlin, I'm going to work out a proper training program with lessons that can have a progression from one thing to another. I'm not sure if I may ultimately have to send him away to have his schooling finished, but if that's what I decide, then I want him to be as prepared as possible.