Lateral Flexion

Because I had such a hard time getting Gypsy to bend on Monday, I decided just to work on that today - before it rains for the next several days.

She didn't come up to me in the field today. She let me approach, but when I started adjusting the rope and halter to put on her, she trotted away. She did this several more times, and every time she stopped to look back at me I stopped approaching her. At one point she started walking back toward me, but then decided to keep on going past me! At last she let me come up and scratch her back. I scratched her all over until I found the sweet spot on the base of her neck. After some more of that she quietly let me put on the halter and followed me out.

After some brushing and friendly game, I started on getting her to give to pressure in zone 1 again. She did well, although a couple times she would bend nicely, then throw her nose up and away - against the halter again. Having got the bend, I let her... not sure if I should have done anything different. Then we just kept doing it over and over and releasing the second she gave even a little bit (note the photos: 1st one straight, 2nd one a slight bend. Again, no one but me to take the photos, so the perpective isn't that good!) I used the "trombone" technique described in the pocket guides: stroking the lead a few times before picking it up and applying pressure. This seemed to get her attention before increasing the pressure on the line.

A few times she moved her feet to try to relieve the pressure, rather than turn her head. I tried to maintain the pressure while she moved around, but just her movement might have lightened the pressure on the line, so I hope I didn't "reward" her for moving her feet. I did my best to stay with her until she stopped and bent her neck. She never really bent her neck very much. I just kept releasing as soon as she turned her head and then she'd put it straight again. Each time I continued to hold the pressure when she started to bend (in the hopes of getting a deeper bend), she would start moving her feet again. I kept at it, probably for about 20 minutes, but went back to releasing at the slightest bend while her feet were still. Hopefully when I return to this next time she'll bend just a bit more and just a bit quicker too.

I also spent some time throwing the rope up, over and around her head. She really doesn't like that. Lots of backing, snorting, blowing and trying to leave. So I tried various different approaches - swinging the end back and forth like a pendulum until she lowered her head and relaxed, then just throwing that end up and over her head (this is with me facing her). She was OK with that. But if I tried to hold the end and throw the loop over her head, she would always throw her head away to avoid the rope, then try to back up or leave. Also, I'm not very good at getting the rope to go where I want it, so that doesn't exactly help either. I kept smacking her in the side of the face with it! I'd probably leave too!

Next I tried standing behind her withers and tried throwing it from side to side in front and over her head. This also wasn't too popular, but she tolerated it better than when I was standing in front of her. Eventually she stopped jerking her head sideways and just stood there while I practiced going back and forth.

Then I went back to trying lateral flexion again. She bent her head at about 90 degrees at one point, but again tossed her head straight again as soon as I released the pressure. We did it a few more times, always getting the bend, but just not getting her to hold the bend for any length of time before moving her feet. Maybe that's OK. Will have to check back in the pocket books.

It was raining by this time, so decided to call it a day. She did pretty good. I hope to build on that in future sessions.