Lunging Rocky - Day 2

I lunged Rocky again this morning! I have come to the conclusion that Rocky bucking is his way of acting out. I put a pole on the ground at the end of the ring where Rocky would have to go over it each time around the circle :) (anything I can do to prepare him for learning to jump! :) ) We walked and trotted both ways calmly. And he even went into the canter on his own once to chase after Rockster - but he didn't buck! In fact, he only bucked once or twice the whole time! The one that I can remember was when he was cantering and starting to slow down and I clucked to him to ask him to move forward - I probably also lifted the lunge whip (although I don't hit him with it, lifting it has been enough of a signal) and he got mad that I was asking for more and put his head down and kicked out to the side a little.

We did have a mini-episode when I was trying to get Rockster (our stray black lab we took in) out of the ring - and I ended up letting go of the lead rope. Rocky wasn't sure who I was growling at, and cantered down to the other end of the ring. But the lunge line got caught under Rocky's tail, and so he took off bucking (kicking up high with both rear legs every stride). I had to laugh, but was also disappointed since our goal is to quit the bucking. Thankfully, he has never done anything quite that dramatic when asking him to canter - it is more of a crow-hop, I guess. Whatever it is, at 17 hands, it is no minor movement! :) He stopped after a few strides, and I calmly caught him and took him back to our lunging area.

We had quite a few nice canter transitions, but we still need to work on our leads. :) He did change his lead in the front a few times over the pole on the ground (to the correct lead), but didn't get the hind end change. We quit after getting a quiet transition each direction on the correct lead.

But the best part is - definite improvement! I can tell that it is just a matter of time and effort to get this part down. I wonder if we will be ready to go to Kim's next week for that lesson. :)

Oh - and the other best part is that Rocky finds me much more interesting - every time he sees me he perks his ears and looks at me brightly like "What are we going to do now, Mom? Do you have a treat for me? :)"