Yay for Better!!!

Two posts in a day?  I know, I couldn't help it, today was really great.  I got to the barn and two of my friends were grazing their horses in the yard so I went and got the Junebug out of his stall.  It was chillier and windier than I would have wanted and then it started to rain so I went in.  I decided to lunge a bit and then try the showmanship and see how it went.  Lunging was great.  I even made him trot and canter over a raised pole.  He needs lots of practice at those things because he is rather lazy and doesn't like to pick up his feet.... therefore he's clumsy.  Remember when I used to say he had 4 Left Feet?  Yup.

I actually got him nice and sweaty and he was a very good boy, doing (nearly) all my verbal commands when I gave them, going from gait to gait and even got him to lope off from a walk a few times!  He even stopped and switched directions for me without incident and NEVER tried to switch directions on his own!

Showmanship was great.  I worked mostly on setting up and he was his usual willing self this time, so I took advantage and really made him set up nice and square each time then smacking him good on the neck and telling him what a good boy he was.  Tiring him out first really helped with using the setting up as the release!!!  

Then, because he was sooo good we went out and I sat in a chair (I know, super safe) and let him graze around me at the end of his lead.  I stepped back to take a few photos.  We just upped his grain a bit trying to cover the ribs a bit more.

Then I cleaned my English tack and our English show halter and even the leather crown on his halter. Junior's stall is right across the aisle from the tack room so I watched him snooze with his head over the stall door while I worked.  I took the pad, saddle cover, half chaps and gloves home to wash last night and even gave my helmet a good scrub and washed the removable liner.  Such a productive day!

And while lucky Junior was eating lush clover, poor Beau was showing us how flexible he is!