The answer? While most horses would flip out at a dog barking and trying to chase them, they *should* come back under control fairly easily. LJ did not. And that being only his 3rd ride since mid-November he was obviously not ready for a road ride.
So I've decided to spend about 30 days doing all the basics with him again. He only had 2 months of work before his time off when the snow hit, so he needs refresher and more work on bending, giving to the bit, and one reined stops. So I decided to start back at square one today and we had a 1/2 hour lunge session working purely on stops and turns. By the end of it he was working very nicely and responding well to me, so I was happy and put him away for the day. I'm going to keep taking it slow with him and get used to being actually worked again (instead of just fed, petted and aaah'd over LOL).
Little John is a very forward horse. He responds quickly to my cues and doesn't need anything more than a kiss and maybe a flap of my arm to get him going forward and he usually needs a minute to settle down and get his focus on me. So usually my lunge whip is on the ground. Today he worked very nice and was stopping immediately when I said whoah and stepped slightly in front of him. I didn't even need to pick up the slack in my line. The last few sessions we have been working on our inside turns as he was having a few issues with it the one way. By the end of our session today I was just making sure his nose was turned in towards me and stepping over and kissing and he was turning inside no problem. I love it when you feel so in tune with your horse!
The snow started again today, and the wind was pretty cold. I was not dressed for the elements! Brr! This weekend the temps are supposed to drop back down around -18 C to -20 C as highs (0 to -4 F) and it's supposed to snow both Saturday and Sunday. So it seems that winter is back. Darn it! I really enjoy those chinooks. Not long until April I guess!
LJ and I today in the snow. My lil buddy!
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