Day 80 (Leads, Side Passes and Forehand Control...)

Steve:
Diago is doing well, but it’s really draining. I am pleased with his training, but now with a month left I am wanting to do so much more with him and wondering how much further I can get him. It’s a competition and we all want to win and the stress of wondering how ready I am is coming out. This last week we worked mostly on picking up the right lead, side passing and forehand control. We rode through our obstacle course and then a small trail ride. We will continue to review and refine right up to the competition, add one or two new things and work on his softness.

Day 71 (Trust Building & Finding the Right Lead)

Steve:
This week was pretty good. This week was I spent time reviewing and kind of just taking it easy. I did however run into a little trouble (nothing too extreme) on Tuesday when I started to lope circles to the right. I also worked on spook proofing Diago for the makeover challenge.

Diago would pick up his left lead fine when loping to the left but would not pick up his right lead when going to the right. After several attempts and breaking it down (exercises to help him take the correct lead) he finally picked up the right lead. He was pretty tired after that session so the next day I was going to just lope to the right and get him comfortable loping on the right lead on a circle to the right. We started out and he picked it up right off the bat. We loped for a few minutes and then spent the rest of the time just goofing off. This up coming week I plan on more loping, riding the obstacle course, and preparation work in the arena for the mustang competition.