DAY 65: Change of
pace for Roscoe today. One of the hardest things to do when following a
training program (especially when time is limited) is keeping it fun for the
horses! We are lucky to have an irrigation canal and maintenance trail behind
our house. It is horse accessible for about a mile (one way). We often walk it
almost all the way to our mailbox and back (making it a two mile walk). There
are some slopes and obstacles, tight turns and narrow walkways on the trail.
So, today we took a walk-Clinton style! We set out and went up and down,
forwards and backwards over the many slopes along the trail. We sent Roscoe
over logs and around boulders, through bushes and other fun obstacles during
the walk. We practices leading beside and following from behind. Lots of
backing up, starts, stops and C-Patterns occurred and we tried to get as
creative as we could. We jogged a bit and we kept up a brisk walking pace all
the way to the mail box. If our calculations are correct the horses do about
two miles of movement on a one mile trail. We got to our mail box, grabbed our
posts and headed back home doing the same thing. The goal was to use every
exercise Roscoe knew and make it a challenge for him by added other stimuli
that he would encounter on the trail. We achieved the goal. Roscoe was a little
unsure about walking down the trail so far from his pasture at first because in
his mind it was almost dinner time but he quickly figured out that if you walk
quickly and do what is asked of you…cookies happen! It was a good experience
and one we will be adding to our program at least once per week. Hopefully next
time we will bring the camera and snap some pictures!
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