bonding;

[{{helena}}]

I get Bob in the arena, lunge whip in my hand. He's not quite sure what to do or to expect, since this is his first time in the round pen, but he is still ready and willing to do as I ask.

I send him to the outside of the ring with the whip and he scatters sideways. I settle him with my voice and wait or him to relax into the bridle before I ask him to do more. I praise him and then ask him to trot on, not with the whip, but with my body and my voice. Apparently my stance was too aggressive for him, so he bolts. I struggle to get him back under control, but once I do he has a nice, springy, floating trot. He flexes his powerful neck muscles and arches his neck because the mare pasture is directly left of the round pen: poor design on my part...I'll have to fix that. After Bob has calmed and begun to stretch forward, I slow him with my voice and bring him to me. I pat him on the forehead and rub his neck. Good boy, buddy.

Suddenly, he shys sideways. I am quick enough to give him as much of the lunge line as he needs and drop the whip. I accidently must have tapped him when I was switching the lunge line to the other side. He stands on the far side of the round pen, nostrils flared and back arched. I slowly approach him, speaking in a low, calming voice so as to not startly him or intimidate him. I fold the line in my had as I get closer to Bob and I drag the whip behin me, looking completly submissive. He stands his ground as I approach him. Once I am next to him, I pat him on the shoulder and pet his face. I then grab his halter and slowly bring the lunge whip forward. He snorts, but doesn't move. I touch the whip to his shoulder. He flinches and lets out a sigh, but still remains steady. I then rub the whip all over each of his sides until he is calm about it and stops flinching. Finally, Bob is desensitized to the lunge whip.

Now that that's over with, I hook Bob up to the lunge line so he can go the other direction and send him to the rail. Once he reaches it, I ask him to trot on. He responds immediatly this time, but calmly. I let him go a few laps at a nice, steady trot, and then I bring him back to me. I unclip the lunge line and place it and the whip outside the ring. I turn my back to Bob and wait for him to approach me. He does, after about a minute of contemplating it. I then begin to walk around the round pen and hope that he follows. He does, and I am pleased. I let him follow me for a few minutes and then I stop and turn and pull a carrot out of my pocket. He sniffs it and then takes it in two bites.