February 15, 2019

There is not that much exciting going on right now. I am training Possum to be an excellent games pony. But I am not really managing explorative trail rides, games competitions, equestrian travels, or JPRs.

Spring is coming.

At practice last weekend Possum was not keen on balloon and it’s going to take some work. When we got home I put the balloon board out next to the hay shelter for the night. I don’t expect this to instantly change his mind about balloons. It’s a different environment. I think it’s going to take a few good sessions of training at home. But I like the reinforcement after a training session.

One of the other things I need to work on with Possum is his right hand. He is horribly unbalanced to the right and it is ridiculous to get him to pick up his right

In my training session on Thursday I started out lunging Possum. I started to the right, then the left, and ended on the right. He was very stiff to the right, noticeably more so than to the left. I plan to try and do this more at home when training. His games training with tight turns to the right should also help strengthen him in that direction as well.

After lunging I attempted some hill work, which Possum very much needs. It was quite slippery and I was ripping up the ground so I cut that short and finished with a hack around the farm. Possum really enjoyed himself.

I have also been working on Possum standing quietly tied. Most days when I trailer him and always when I ride him I make a point to leave him tied while I do some verbal barn type of work. Today he was noticeably more relaxed than usual.

I think these are three good things to be working on with Possum. Balloon, his right side and patience when tied. It was too slippery to properly work on balloon and I also didn’t want to rip up that part of my riding field. Lunging in it was bad enough.

Training continues.