Not gonna let it turn out like my diaries...

It has been too long since my last post. I am not going to let this blog turn out like my diary/journals always turn out...three months into it if I'm really trying, if not...three pages, then it gets lost under my bed :P To update on Diamond and I and our progress...I always forget to do the figure eight and weaves patterns with him. I don't know why but I do. So lately I have been really trying to work on that and he is getting so much better! He'll even trot through them now, and occasionally canter, although he gets stuck on the turns and slows to a walk. Its just sooooo much EFFORT to turn AND keep trotting. I might as well ask him to jump over the moon! On the other hand, I've been working on the traveling circle and he is doing WONDERFUL. It always used to be he would stop when he got behind me and I was always to slow with my body and the carrot stick to get him moving again before he had the little "Nah nah, look what I did!" look on his face. I became just a little more assertive, added apple treats and it made all the difference. Now I can walk for an entire minute with him circling around me! I usually keep it at one to four circles though, other wise he starts getting negative feelings about it. I've been playing circing with obstacles by jumping him over barrels standing up. I was really surprised when I put just two barrels standing upright and he headed right towards them when I asked, and popped over them like it was nothing! Treat treat treat! For Liberty, I have been doing a LOT of friendly game, a little sideways, some porcupine, some Stick To Me (using the fence to keep him from wandering far enough away that he can stop and graze) and lead by the mane at a trot. Riding has just been bareback w/halter lately(not that I ever use anything but a halter) Although I did saddle up and go on a twenty mile trail ride with one of my friends. Diamond was wonderful except for one part during the ride home where he decided Providence(friends horse) was getting to close and bit at him. We had a little calm-down session then went off again. This time he tried a kick. So, everytime he acted aggressively towards Provy I just told him to trot IN FRONT of Providence so he wouldn't need to tolerate him. Pretty soon he decided walking beside Provy was fine :P To reward him I let him eat a little grass before we headed home. During the ride while we were on a dirt road these three HUGE construction trucks carrying really freaky objects that even I couldn't identify passed us. My friend and I pulled off on the side of the road. Diamond took one look at the trucks, dismissed them as insignificant, and took advantage of our pause to eat some leaves. Back on home(on another day) we jumped the upright barrels bareback(yay me for not losing my balance!) and did lots and lots of transitions.

Well that updates pretty much everything. I will certainly post RIGHT AFTER our next play session so I don't have to write so much!