Work in Progress

Trask is definitely still a work in progress but I definitely see a lot of improvement. It's easy to get caught up in all the things we still can't do or those occasional times that he misbehaves, but overall he really has gotten a ton better.

• He puts his head down to be bridled and I no longer have to pry his mouth open to get the bit in
• I can clip his face, including his muzzle now
• He no longer gets claustrophobic when I half-halt him
• He's getting much better at picking up his leads
• I can carry a whip and (most of the time) use it without him freaking out

We went on a trail ride last weekend by ourselves and it was far above and beyond better than the last time we went by ourselves. He wanted to spook at stuff for sure, but he held it together and did as I asked without having a tantrum or me having to get off. We walked passed scary trashcans, the giant metal rooster, the enormous neighbor's bull, crossed the spooky yellow lines on the street, etc. We trotted a bunch and even cantered on the trails. The only time I had to get off is when we approached the pond. He was not having any of it and didn't even want to get within 20 feet, so I hopped off and led him up to the edge and he was fine.

It was really nice to feel that improvement! Unfortunately school has started and is already insane, especially with the start of our small animal surgery labs so I haven't been able to ride as much as I would like. Trask was feeling VERY fresh today and we had some impressive spooks and leaps due to a horse being ridden outside the arena, which Trask was sure was NOT ALLOWED.

Little froggy friend

We worked through it and had some good moments and by the end, I could tell he wanted to spook but he refrained. Instead he'd take a big, tense stride or two, but it was so much better than his little bolts (not really real bolts, because as soon as you half half him he stops). He'll get there someday, I think once he grows up a bit and gets more miles he's gonna be a great horse.

Definitely not afraid of the whip *as he waves it around*