Another Week

Another week has gone by and everything's looking up. As I mentioned last time, Badger has started being much more interested in going out and checking out the sights, so haltering is definitely going a lot more eagerly than before. Despite that he remains very well-mannered, and for the most part remembers not to walk ahead of me (every now and then he forgets, when there's something new and interesting to look at or smell).

Friday was another 'energetic' day, folks were riding their horses around, so Badger seemed full of get-up-and-go! Since he seemed interested in it, we did short stretches of trotting as well; he certainly needed no encouragement to start going. All he needed was to be led to one of the open stretches and me to start walking a little faster, and as I moved into a jog he seemed to already know what I had in mind and his walk transitioned smoothly into an easy trot alongside me. Each time he also slowed as I slowed, with just a quiet "whoa" to stop completely. It's too bad boots are a bit tough to jog in, he seemed eager to do even more.

Now that he's feeling so good, I'm hoping to put him in the turnout pen tomorrow and see if he'd like to trot around in there as well. Or more! Who knows!

Will definitely have to work some more on him picking up his foot, as he seems to not want to do his left front (the rest, front or back, I only have to lightly touch and up it goes). Not sure what's going on there, although if he was that interested in trotting around I don't think it's a pain thing.

It's only been a few weeks so far and I'm already amazed at his rapid progress. He seems so considerate and consistently well-behaved, it disappoints me that a horse like him was just discarded and mistreated.