Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Boomer update!

I talked to Kelly this morning about Boomer. I'm going to go out on Thursday to ride with her. She said that he is still pulling back. She put a regular halter on him and he tested it, bumping the end of the rope a few times, she got behind him and waved her arms and he stopped pulling. So, she got the Be Nice halter back out for him. He still pulls back some, but she said it mostly seems like he is testing to see what halter he has on.
As far as riding is going, she said that he is being awesome. He goes out alone, in the lead, at the back, through mud, etc. She has him in a tom thumb bit now. I used to use one of those on Windy (my first arab mare). It is a good transition bit from a snaffle (for hunters) to a curb (for WP) and is what I used to use on her for training and lessons. So, I have one already. Kelly said that it is helping him be less high headed and it has also helped him with rushing up and down hills. She said that as soon as she says 'easy' he slows down and takes baby steps up and down the hills. She also said that he is who she picks when she rides out with her friend who has a number of young colts. She said that he does great with them. She can have him halt and wait until the young horses calm down or if the go off trail, he waits calmly until they come back. She said that she will swing his hip over in front of the young horses to give them someone to follow.
He is doing great on the trail and for riding, but he is still having a time of it with tying and pulling back. I feel like he is getting to a place where he will be easier for me to handle. Once I ride with her a few times and see that he IS doing good on trails, I think that I will feel much better about him. I ordered a Be Nice halter and have no problem using it to tie him up to the hitching post when I'm tacking him up, etc.

3 comments:

Shanster said...

Wonderful! Everything sounds really great - you will be so excited to get him home and begin covering ground with him!

Mel said...

Got a chance to check out your blog. I really really like your title picture.

Heather said...

Shanster-
I am very happy with how things are progressing. I go to ride with the trainer and watch her work tomorrow and we will probably bring him home on the 21st. So, 45 days of training will hopefully make a difference in him and i my trust in him as well!

Mel-
Glad you like it! The picture actually resized its self when it was uploaded and I liked the zoomed in picture you see more than the original. I am not computer savvy and I just keep my fingers crossed that the picture never reverts to its normal format, because I love it too!