Getting the mind right starts with the feet

Week 2 With Lara beth and Cooper

Each morning I go into Coopers stable and we work at liberty. Time vanishes as I am consumed by Coopers complexities. His facial expressions speak so much louder then the average horse. This week I have been lucky enough to observe Coopers transformation in behaviour from a concerned reactive wild horse to a more inquisitive mind.

Less is more. The first session of every day is solely about moving the feet. Our liberty work is bending, following and facing up in response to my body language, movement and energy. When Cooper is engaged and interested, I put a halter on and leave the stable. End of Session 1.

By Mid week it would not matter if people we in the stables or there was feed in Coopers feeder, he was happy to follow my cues and wanted to be part of the session. This is a huge improvement from pick up week when Cooper showed dominant tendencies around food.

It wasn't all smooth sailing , while teaching Cooper to follow the feel on the lead he almost pulled away from me; on both occasions I used a face up cue to regain he focus. Although I have a lead rope on Coopers the goal is always to be as light as possible and have cooper follow my energy.
Cooper and I went on to finish the week by leading softly out of the stable and into the indoor.

Coopers Daily V-log is up @Brumby Diaries Lara Beth on Fb