I rode Newt today. We walked to the arena and lunged and then rode in the arena. He now has a tendency to canter on the lunge. That is OK with me except that it excites him. Today he wanted to go faster and faster. I had to hold the lunge line tight until I got him to slow down. He did slow down and we ended the lunge session with several rounds at a walk. He showed the most excitement and bucking when he was going clockwise. I have not previously noticed whether or not Newt has a hard and a soft side. Today I got to thinking about it since there is more inclination to get excited and go fast lunging clockwise. When I rode it seemed like clockwise, the right rein, is his soft side, or at least he goes better in that direction. Newt is very enjoyable for me to ride now. He does a good job and has enough energy. I do not canter yet as that seems to excite him. I’ll wait until he canters calmly on the lunge. We rode all the way to the west end of the Oak pasture. (about 100 feet further than last time.) I am taking it easy with Newt’s training. He is doing good and if he spooks hard and throws me, it may have a bad influence on his confidence. At this point I am considering Newt the turn around horse. He is going in the right direction now and we just need to keep it up.
I have been taking Newt to the trailer since it helped Magic so much. He got in the trailer today. He was very calm. That may be the biggest advantage of the routine. If you wait until you are going someplace, it puts raised expectations on loading. And I’m usually in a hurry which does not help.