FOREHAND TURNS AHOY.

Sometimes, my horse is incredibly smart... when his poor four year old brain slows down enough for him to think rationally. Case in point... he officially has learned to do turns on the forehand! Both directions! This may seem small, but it means a lot to me. He's the first horse I've taught them to. And it took three days... a few minutes each day. Last night I did them on the ground before getting on. After I mounted I tried them again. He did them well with his hip going to the right, but still didn't understand the other direction. I got him to move his hip a tiny bit to the left and then went out with our regular ride. We warmed up with some shoulder in/counter shoulder in. He was really good. He was a little fussy with his head to start out, but I also realized I was being more picky with his head too. Once I relaxed on him he carried his head right where it should be without fussing. I've gotta try and remember that LESS IS MORE... especially on a greenie. His canter was really good. At the end of our ride I tried some more turns on the forehand (in front of the mirror) and he did them perfectly both directions several times. Hooray!

I am riding him again tonight. :)