Today I had a session with Anna about teaching Kai to lift his shoulders during riding and to help me continue teaching him vertical flexion.

At first, I did some small circles on the ground to get him connected. Anna told me that I was happy with too little and that I should ask more of him. Also, she explained how I could help him by driving his ribs out with my core. This helped Kai step underneath himself. I kept asking him until he put in a bit more effort and then gave him a short break.

We began the ride by going on the rail and asking Kai to give his nose. He was doing what I wanted but he was a little bit distracted and I would have to get his attention back. He soon became more connected and would hold his nose the way I asked. Anna helped me get a feel for when he is flexing at the poll and when he is over-bending. As he began to understand what I wanted he started to over flex a lot less often than last time. Anna also showed me that I don't have to "throw away" all the contact when he gave to the pressure and was soft, I could release with my fingers. I can also put the fingers back on as a very light phase and then take the bottom fingers away again when he is soft.

Next she had me lightly put my inside leg on during the turns so that he didn't fall with his shoulders. It felt really great and balanced when Kai did a light turn without falling.

Next Anna set up a pattern for me to follow. It was a modified clover leaf, made out of five cones, four making a large square and one marking the middle. I would ride through the middle of the square and then turn left at a cone and turn left again to cut through the middle at the next cone. After I understood the pattern we did it to the left and to the right focusing on making nice balanced turns and making sure Kai stayed soft. I needed to focus on not lifting my hands up and on not leaning with my body. It was pretty easy when I was thinking about doing those things, but if I lost my focus and concentrated on something else I would start to lean again.  

We ended the lesson and I walked Kai on the rail to cool him off. I looped the reins on the saddle horn and started swinging my arms in big circles just like I used to do on the lunge line while directing Kai with my legs. Kai was a bit confused at first and asked a question but soon understood it was just more friendly game.

Also, I am glad he is learning how to find the sweet spot and is overflexing so much less now.


Later that day I visited Kai in the paddock and brought his new bit with me. Kai only had a bit in his mouth once or twice in his old home. At first we reviewed what he learned last session, to reach his nose in the bridle. When he did that three times I raised the expectation and held the bit to his lips.

At first, Kai tried to avoid it and was moving his head all over but I stayed with him until he realized that I wasn't going to shove it in his mouth. I gave him a cookie while the bit was touching his lips a few times before asking a bit more. This time, I gave him the bit with the cookie and let him spit it out before giving him another cookie. Kai licked his lips and asked a question. I held out the bridle again and asked him to reach his nose in like we did at the beginning and then held it to his lips waiting for him to take it. It took him a few moments but then he willingly opened his mouth and let me slide the bit in. I let him spit it out again and gave him two cookies for taking the bit so nicely. Then I began to hold the bit in his mouth for a few moments before giving him a cookie. We ended on a really good one when he reached his nose in and happily took the bit and held it for five whole seconds before I took it out. I gave him a muffin and then left.

All this took about 15 minutes! I am excited to see how he will respond to the bit next session!

Today Kai caught me in the paddock and we did some bowing before going to the arena. I groomed and tacked him up and began to do some circles so I could see him move with the saddle. Kai was hollowing his back something awful and was super distracted. I thought this was as good a time as any to teach him to stretch his head down.

I asked him to bring his head down at a stand still and then at the walk. Kai was resisting and bracing on the pressure but I kept on asking until he could relax. Then we repeated the same process a the trot. Kai eventually found the sweet spot and he kept his head level with the withers.

I thought we could take it a step further and teach him to give his nose. I began with the easiest movement, the back up, and kept asking him until he gave his nose in as well as backed up. Then I put his bum in the corner and practiced asking him to give that way. Then I tied the lead line into reins and put  contact on them. Then we walked at stick to me while holding pressure on his nose. It was hard for me to keep a steady feel so I held on to the saddle. Kai was very confused and he did not know what to do with the pressure for three laps around the arena. Then after thinking hard about it he gave to the pressure just a little bit. I released and praised him. Kai had a big lick and chew and gave his nose almost right away when I asked him again.

Soon he understood that he could give his nose instead of always stopping. We practiced a relaxed stop and back up and even some tiny trot steps on the ground. I then mounted up and asked him to give his nose the exact same way as I did on the ground.

Kai stood still and hesitated before giving his nose. I gave him a cookie and lots of praise so he knew he did the right thing. Soon we were walking around the rail while keeping a very light contact. We practiced stopping and backing up without getting tense. I dismounted to give him a little break.

I thought that we could play with the bridle for a little. I borrowed Kaila's because I left my bit at home as I did not expect to be needing it. I made sure Kai was comfortable with it before asking him to reach his nose in the head stall. Soon Kai was thinking about putting his nose in the head stall and I put the bridle away. This is meant to prime him a little for the next time we play with it. I like to plant little idea seeds in his head when introducing something new. This sets us up for success when we do it the next time.  I notice that he really gets new things a lot faster if I planted those seeds before.

I mounted again and we did some more flexion. Kai was over-bending in the beginning but I let him get away with it for the first time because he didn't know the sweet spot yet. However I did discourage it by giving little bumps upwards on the reins when he was over-flexing. He wasn't trying to avoid contact, he really thought that I wanted him to do it this way. I just slowly guided him to the sweet spot and he was already doing less over-flexing.


I then untacked him and put the cooler on. I let him loose so that he could go roll if he wanted to. He walked around and then came to hang out with me. I squeezed some orange juice on the mounting block so that he could lick it for an extra special treat. Kai really likes orange juice!

When Mom came I jumped on him again to show her and Kaila how he learned to flex. What a good boy!

Today I set up the obstacles for our level 3 online audition before getting Kai. We worked on not rushing the weave a and then began to practice our routine. Kai was doing an amazing job and did everything I asked him to do lightly. Next I set up the camera and we began our pattern but when I came to turn it off I discovered that the battery died. Kai did rush the weave a little so I wasn't too disappointed about it. I was actually feeling very happy because we were having a wonderful and connected session. Later I had some orange juice and I could see by Kai's expression that he really wanted to taste it. I decided to squirt some on my hand and let him lick it. I would have never guessed that Kai loves orange juice. I asked him for one more weave before ending the session.

Later that day Kai saw me coming with a halter to fetch another horse and he came from behind the hay net and left his herd to come greet me. I took a moment to give him cookies and scratches and even asked him to smile before moving on. I think it is good for him to see that just because I have a halter doesn't mean that we are going to have a session. Sometimes he only gets love and cookies.

Today Kai came to greet me by the gate when he saw me coming with the halter.

We started to play with backing up by the tail. I practiced making turns because Kai wants to keep turning to face me. I kept asking him until he was doing nice turns and was soft. Then I set up a pole by the rail so that he could trot over it on the circle. At first I just asked him to walk and trot over it and then I asked him to stop right before it. Kai asked a question and leaned forward, so I decided to encourage his idea of going forward and asked him to put both front feet over the pole. Kai licked and chewed and asked another question. I asked him to back up and then walk over it for another circle. I asked Kai to step over it all the way and then I asked him to back over it. Kai was asking lots of questions and was thinking hard about doing what I was asking him.

Then we moved on to putting only one foot over the pole. Soon he was putting one front foot over the pole without needing to put the other one over. We also did this with his back feet. I asked Kai to go on a circle at the trot and he asked a question every time he was approaching the pole. I brought him in and gave him a cookie before asking him to straddle the pole length wise. I carefully talked to each of his feet until he could straddle the pole. Kai got the front feet down but still put his back feet all the way over on either side before relaxing in that position.

We repeated this a few times and Kai could understand really quickly what I wanted him to do.
Then we worked on perfecting sideways from zone one over the pole. My goal was to get him to go sideways with me without the stick. We played around with the phases until I did not need the stick anymore. He was leaving his bum behind a little so we worked on helping his HQ catch up to his front. Kai was doing both directions very lightly. However he found it more difficult to stop when we went sideways right on the edge of the pole, he went all the way off. We ended the session when he went both left and right and then left again without pausing to much and mirroring my speed all without me using the stick.

Today we did not do much in terms of working on our audition routine but we  strengthened  our relationship a lot. I went to visit with Kai in the paddock whenever I had a spare moment in between working and doing chores. The first time I went to see him he seemed pretty intrigued that I came to see him without taking him out of the paddock. I hung out with him and gave him a cookie before leaving. The second time I went to visit Kai came to catch me and we practiced some bowing.

Then Kai came to be by the gate to watch me walking around filling water buckets and cleaning up. I gave him a cookie whenever I walked by to encourage him to stay by the gate. This will be useful when it is mud season. Hopefully Kai will love to be by the gate and I will not have to walk through all that mud to play catching game. After lunch I went in paddock and Kai eagerly walked up to catch me and followed me at liberty to the shelters where the snow was all packed down and easy to walk on.

We practiced bowing on one knee and then I began to teach Kai how to bow with both leg stretched out. Then we worked on his Spanish walking. Kai did the most coordinated Spanish walk yet! He didn't miss a single step and he did not leave his hind legs behind! I asked him one more time before ending the mini session. Kai even followed me to the gate. Later I visited him one more time but we didn't do any tricks or games, we just spent some time together.

Sometimes, when I don't have a clear plan for the session, we end up having the most fun and growth.


Kai and I began the session by doing liberty stick to me and some trot and canter draws. I asked Kai to bow and let go off his leg while he was down and he didn’t bounce up right away, like he used to. I want to teach Kai to stay down without me holding his foot and eventually to go down on his own without my help.

I then asked him to smile for a longer period of time. My goal is to be able to ask Kai to smile from 22' away.

I then asked him to bow with both front legs extended. This stretches his legs and strengthens his core. Next we hung out together for a little. Sometimes it is nice to spend some time together without asking Kai to do anything.

I asked him on the circle at the trot. I decided to push my luck and ask him to canter. Kai used to leave when I asked him to canter at liberty but today he decided to stay. He didn't maintain gait but he made the transition and did not even think about leaving. I knew I couldn't be too picky. I needed to "expect a lot, accept a little and reward often" (Pat Parelli) to keep Kai motivated. I invited him in and gave him cookies every couple of circles.

I then decided to go for a little ride. I tied the lead rope into reins and then hopped on. I challenged Kai to a game of "don't make me use the reins!" I asked him for lateral flexion by tapping the side of his neck to tell him to flex and then gave him a cookie when he did. Then we practiced yields. Kai tends to go forward instead of yielding when I put my leg on.

Kai was doing lovely FQ yields and after a little bit of work he was  yielding his HQ. I then asked him to go on the rail and when he fell to the inside I directed him back with my leg.  In the past, when I used to put my leg on he would speed up and ignore my energy. Now he simply moved away from the pressure. I discovered that he responded to my hand movements even if I was not holding the reins. I thought we could practice this hand gesture steering because it will be useful when I am riding with a neck rope  and even when I teach him to steer by his mane.

I was thinking that if I am teaching him to do lead by the tail and lead by the mane, why not do lead by the mane while riding? I could eventually ask him to turn with his mane!

We did some turns and trot to halt to back up transitions. We quickly reviewed the yields and backing up with the leg before dismounting.

I then played around with asking Kai to do some flying lead changes. Kai was very light and did his best but he was having a little trouble with changing leads in the back legs. I still rewarded him for being so light. We ended the session on a good change.

I later messaged Marsha and she gave me some tips on how to help Kai change in the back legs as well.

I was not feeling confident with asking Kai to load even though I knew the steps to take, so I asked Kaila for help. At first Kaila had me ask Kai to sniff the floor of the trailer and to get his attention back on it if he looked away. I then needed to ask a little more of him every time.

Kai was resisting on the halter so I began to bump him and progressively got bigger until he put more effort in. Then Kai yanked me out of the trailer, and I started bumping him on his nose very hard. Then I got him go into the trailer before he had a chance to stop. I knew he wasn’t scared, just defiant, because he was blinking the whole time.

 The more I slipped on the ice the more unconfident I felt. Kaila blocked the way back to the paddocks which limited Kai's airs above the ground to one direction.

Kai was leaping in the air and doing low rear turns so that he was facing sideways to the trailer. I bumped his nose harder again and asked him to load. Kai put both front feet in before jumping out and pulling me out.

I stood in the power position which did not help because there was an icy patch in front of the trailer. Kai dragged me through a snow bank. A snow bank! There was no way I was letting that rope go! I asked him again and when he refused I corrected him.

Kaila helped me feel confident and eventually Kai loaded up. I gave him a cookie and asked him to come out  before it was his idea. I then loaded him again and let him rest inside. Kaila then told me that Kai had to load three times in a row without hesitating and then we were done. When he did load, I took him back to the indoor arena and put his cooler on and let him loose.

Kai rolled a few times and then wandered around as I emptied my boots from the snow and ate my sandwich. Kaila suggested that I could wrap another cooler around his neck to help it dry. I wrapped it around like a scarf. Kai then managed to shake his head in a way that the  cooler covered his eyes. Then, the blindfolded Kai started to back up to see if he could back out from under it but found it to be ineffective.

He tried turning both ways but that still didn't work. Next Kai set off in a relatively straight line towards the gate. I told him to whoa but he barely flicked an ear in my  direction no matter how loud I was and kept on walking. To his surprise, he bumped his nose on the gate.  

The poor guy was completely confused. He turned his head in the direction of my voice and waited for me to approach. I talked the entire time so that he knew where I was. I lifted the blanket off his head and rubbed his nose. I draped the cooler on his head again and gave him a stud muffin.  I waited until he was relaxed because I did not want him to be afraid of his face being covered.

Today I wanted to work on being more interesting for Kai and to have a better draw at liberty. Kai had made a game of running away if I used a little more energy and asked more of him. I wanted to know what I could do to win that game.

We began by doing HQ yields. Kai tried to block me from reaching his bum with his nose and he left if I blocked him with my hand. Kaila had me do catching game when he would leave and then the yields when he would come back.  

Kaila also explained that in order for Kai to want to come back faster I needed to back up at the same speed he was coming until he would speed up and put effort in catching me.

Kai began to come back with more exuberance and had a very playful attitude. Soon he was coming back faster and did not go as far away as before. He also had a couple of funny moments when he started to leave at a gallop for about four steps but then he would change his mind and come back.

When he was doing nice HQ yields I tested the FQ yield which was surprisingly light. Then Kaila had us do a little dance of two steps HQ yield, two steps FQ yields and then repeat on the other side. When Kai did both sides nicely and stayed connected we moved on to yoyo game.

First, I asked Kai to back up three steps before asking him back in. Then I worked on increasing the steps he took backwards. Kai disconnected a few times but he came back quickly. Then Kaila explained to me that my connection with Kai was like silly putty. If you slowly pull it apart it stays connected but it slowly gets thinner. However if you keep pulling it apart it will break. So when I am playing with Kai I need to feel the connection stretch and try to keep it from breaking. The more it breaks the more fragile it becomes. As I play more and more I will become more and more aware of the connection and the connection will get stronger and stronger.

There was a moment where I asked Kai to back up a little more and he glanced away from me and then looked back at me. I could tell that he was considering leaving. I was asking him for one more step at the moment and I wondered weather whether to bring him in or persist. I decided to persist so I softened my energy and kept asking him. Kai made a gesture with his nose to the other end of the arena as he took the step back so I quickly invited him in. This happened so fast I didn't have much time to think. This moment helped me understand and feel that silly-putty-like connection that Kaila talked about.