We caught Charlot easily and took him, with Fjord (Shetland gelding in training), into our arena. Jo went through the routine of picking up his feet and apart from a small kicking session with one back one, Charlot co-operated nicely.
I did some leading training and Charlot was happy to walk alongside stopping and starting, reading and following my body language. He wanted to stop at the entrance as he had decided that he had enough and I asked him to walk on. He took a few steps and then bit my elbow.
The minute Charlot did it, I turned around so we were face to face and, outraged, I made him back up and keep backing up until I said enough (a couple of yards). His little face was one of amazement. He knew exactly what he had done and he then started to lick and chew his apology.
Apology accepted, we went back to the exercise once more just to prove that I say when it is enough and not him. Charlot was contrite and I had his full attention.
So, as we say, the cheque has cleared!
It is obvious that Charlot has not been handled. We stroke, touch and groom him with our hands all over his body so he gets desensitized as much as possible. He doesn’t jump anymore and Jo laid over his back to see what he would do - he was completely mystified and a bit jumpy!
Sorry, no photos.
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