I Have Proof!

In my first post I mentioned that Gambler is now capable of circling at liberty. To clarify, I am not talking about roundpenning.

Roundpenning requires a round pen, which I don't have. My "pen" is a part of the pasture that can be separated off from the rest to form a nifty outdoor arena. It's a pretty awesome setup.

Back to my point, roundpenning consists of driving your horse around in a circle in the outside of the said round pen. Circling at liberty, on the other hand, is when the horse circles you as if they are longeing, but without a longe line to keep them there. I was insanely happy when I took the lead off of Gambley and he chose to stay with me and listen to my cues, when he could have walked off without a problem. It shows just how far we have come as partners in the last few months. Actually, in the last few weeks, given how far behind we were in training after his injury.

Today, at the end of our session, I decided to try the liberty circles again, mostly to convince myself it wasn't a fluke. Gambler was fantastic! He circled at the walk and a little at the trot, which totally made my day. Granted, he still has a long way to go. The circles aren't very round, and every once in a while I can see him think about walking away, so I have to give him a little reminder by clucking, or calling out his name. Still, this gelding is a far cry from the little spaz I brought home to the barn four months ago!

 I've been telling everyone that my horse will circle at liberty, but now I can finally prove it! My sincere thanks to my brother, the aspiring photographer who took these videos.

The rest of our session went well. He walked, trotted, cantered, and jumped a (very) little jump with the close contact saddle on, all without an issue. I used to have to put so much energy out just to get him to trot, but now he takes the trot just off of the vocal cue! As for the canter, he will sustain it for at least half a circle, before falling back into the trot, which is all I'm asking for now. 

 YAWN!

 He's so much better at keeping a respectful distance now.

 I love this picture of him. Now if only I wasn't in the background.

"What are you lookin' at?"