Going back to the basics at the canter. It's time to focus on Darrien's ...

"It's time to go back to the basics. In this video you will see how Susan is finding new ways to deal with the issues that Darrien has at the canter "

We have decided to take the time to bring Darrien back to the basics. He is now wearing a snaffle bit instead of the double bridle and Susan has removed her spurs. As you will see, Darrien is not comfortable with rein contact. His neck is tight and it looks like he is shortening the length of his neck by shoving it back into his shoulders. This is Darrien getting anxious and worried about what is happening. To help Darrien get through this resistance Susan is allowing him to carry his head where ever he wants and is simply following the movement of it with her hands. In the next few weeks Darrien will slowly start to let go of that tension and as a result, will seek the contact instead of resisting it The process is not pretty, but is what we need to do to get him past these issues.I call this clearing out the "cobwebs" from his past.

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to encourage me to share training sessions like this. It really was a leap of faith to show the not so pretty side of what happens in the training process. There are two more videos of this session that I will be sharing.

What did you learn from watching what we are doing with Darrien in this session?

http://youtu.be/63ajVLq93sE