Well, Mav and I have been working together a good amount. Just yesterday, I decided he was officially "two" since we know he was born around March two years ago, and St. Patrick's Day will be simple to remember.
At this point, heres what we've got so far.
*Takes his bit AMAZING. Just put your hand on top of his head, hold the bit in the other and he does the rest.
*Stands pretty still for being cinched and saddled. Gets a little antsy when cinching if you go to fast, but he's fine if you take it easy.
*Turns under saddle. Sort of. :P
*Lunges at walk and (inconsistent) trot. Working on consistent trot and canter. Also need to work on something inconvenient Paw accidentally programmed in him where he won't walk off lunging unless you tug his halter a little. That means until I fix it he can't be free lunged...
*backs up on command if you tap his front leg(s) and say "shh". Very helpful since he will let you do so with your foot.
*picks up feet and knows how to be balanced while he does so.
*mounts great, even if you do so quickly and rudely.
* fairly relaxed while leading, easier to slow him down than to speed him up.
* walks away from his mother Dixie without a huge issue. (The same cannot be said for Dixie.)
* In the occasion he attempts to bolt while on a lead, as soon as he feels the lead pull him he stops (also unlike his mummy).
So, besides working on lunging he's pretty awesome. I've gotten him to where he can turn fairly well, still need to do a lot of "tuning" it. However, after I fix that... I have a big question. Uh... How do I teach him to walk off? *blushes* I would prefer to just be able to kiss/click at him and not have to nudge him to get him to walk off but it's fine if I do have to. Just a preference.
So question is, how do you teach a colt to walk off under saddle?
At this point, heres what we've got so far.
*Takes his bit AMAZING. Just put your hand on top of his head, hold the bit in the other and he does the rest.
*Stands pretty still for being cinched and saddled. Gets a little antsy when cinching if you go to fast, but he's fine if you take it easy.
*Turns under saddle. Sort of. :P
*Lunges at walk and (inconsistent) trot. Working on consistent trot and canter. Also need to work on something inconvenient Paw accidentally programmed in him where he won't walk off lunging unless you tug his halter a little. That means until I fix it he can't be free lunged...
*backs up on command if you tap his front leg(s) and say "shh". Very helpful since he will let you do so with your foot.
*picks up feet and knows how to be balanced while he does so.
*mounts great, even if you do so quickly and rudely.
* fairly relaxed while leading, easier to slow him down than to speed him up.
* walks away from his mother Dixie without a huge issue. (The same cannot be said for Dixie.)
* In the occasion he attempts to bolt while on a lead, as soon as he feels the lead pull him he stops (also unlike his mummy).
So, besides working on lunging he's pretty awesome. I've gotten him to where he can turn fairly well, still need to do a lot of "tuning" it. However, after I fix that... I have a big question. Uh... How do I teach him to walk off? *blushes* I would prefer to just be able to kiss/click at him and not have to nudge him to get him to walk off but it's fine if I do have to. Just a preference.
So question is, how do you teach a colt to walk off under saddle?