It rained most of the day but after it stopped this evening I found some time to play with Moon and Buddy. Moon and I played around with sideways over the barrels online. We haven't been getting it yet, and last time I worked at it I think I made it stressful for both of us, so I made sure not to do that today. We got it so she could line up beside the barrels with a few inches of herself overtop in each direction. I had to remember to find a good spot, then stop and wait, not push for more. I was on the right track because I got more licking and chewing when I did that. She also stood with both front feet on our stump for me. I think this is only the second time without using a rope for support. She did great and even stayed up there for quite a while. I was able to drop the lead rope and walk all around her while flapping the string on the ground. I even asked her to lower her head enough for me to reach so I could remove her halter, walk away, come back with my hackamore and lower her head again to put that on, all while still on the stump! Finally I asked her to step off so I could step onto it to get on her. We rode around freestyle, me just getting some bareback practice in, before returning to it. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I asked her to step back on it while I was on her and she did!!! That was a cool feeling! We ended up doing that twice during the ride and it felt great :)
I also played with Buddy. He backed nicely through the gate, just like Moon had earlier. We played around with squeezing over the barrels. He was funny, pretty much doing anything but jumping over! He found out he could squeeze around the outside if I gave too much rope, push them out of the way with his nose, or jumble them around with his legs to create an opening to walk through. I thought it was pretty creative, but he did end up giving me a try at jumping in the end. I haven't done a lot of sideways with him, but we achieved some sideways over the stump today. That was a nice surprise. I used it again to also get on him for a short bareback ride. We did some follow the rail which seems to be improving nicely. I'm really loving my bareback pad and should use it more often. It was a nice evening to be out and the cooler temperature was a nice change.
