Day 40-42 - Tarp

  Day 40 - On day 40 we brought a tarp to the ranch and staked it down in the arena to start desensitizing him to it. Just for fun (and a good video:)when we first started I sorta slowly walked him up to the tarp nice and calm and once he got to it and started sniffing it I grabbed the corner, pulled it up high, and he totally was out of there! :b Right before I walked him up to it my mom had asked if I wanted any gloves but I said i was fine, boy I wish I took her advice! I got a bad rope burn on my hand and had to have gloves on the rest of the day. When that was over I got Disco again and started working him hard around the tarp and resting him by it, he was pretty jumpy and didn't want to be by it at all! But after awhile he finally took one step on and then took it back off, so I pointed forward and had him get back on, when I did he started sniffing and pawing the tarp and just figuring out what it was and messing around with it a bit. Finally he took two steps, then three, and finally he was completely on it. Once he finally got on I desensitized him and gave him a chance to think about what just happened. After a little rest I started doing line driving and making him walk in the middle of the tarp while I walked on the sand. He did really good the rest of the time and by the end of the day I was doing run up and rub with him on the tarp, stomping all over it, smacking it with my stick and string, and just doing pretty much anything you can think of! We did some other review before we did the tarp but that was pretty much the big thing of the day, YAY! Before we left we put up arena lights so we wont have to leave at dark anymore!


Also started our "Top Secret" training with Disco that you will have to wait until the EMM competition to find out what it is. =D


  Day 41 - I spent the night at my friends house Thursday so we didn't get to go to the ranch. :(

  Day 42 - Yesterday we got to the ranch around 2:15, gave Disco his food and water, and while he was eating my parents were picking up tree limbs and I went up to the front of our ranch to mow, unfortunately the tractor stopped working so I didn't get to finish and had to walk back... After a few minutes my parents friends got to the ranch so we took them back to the arena, got our horses, and let them ride for their first time ever! I haltered up Disco and did most of my work with him outside of the arena on the obstacles. I think we are going to need a bigger jump because he goes over out high one at the trot... Think he is gonna be a good jumper! I also did a lot of review with him and worked some more on his side passing at the trot. He was super good when we were outside the arena and did everything really light. When I went into the arena to do the tarp he was so scared of it again at first but it didn't take him long to remember that it was the same thing we worked on the day before and walked over it fine. But our tarp session got cut short when my horse Texas took off and I had to get on him and work him. (im sorta glad it happened though because it gave me a chance to ride him) We left kinda early though because we wanted to get some rest and I was really tired because me and Gia stayed up pretty late when I spent the night. :) Disco is getting SO good!