May 11th

It is windy today and Ari and I work in the round pen. I start our session with the lariet rope. It takes only a moment to walk up to him, rub on him with it, then put a loop over his neck. With this done I can use the rope around his legs, by his cinch area, and to toss it over his head a bunch to desensitize him. Ari says it tickles and annoys him, which he expresses by bucking or kicking at the rope. Whenever he stops and looks at me I release the pressure and let him stand. This standing still thing seems like a good idea to him so very soon Ari is no longer bucking or kicking. With the stick and string I work on rubbing him and using the string to toss over him. I jump around, kick out my legs and swing my arms around quickly. Ari is sure that I am insane at this point but he gets over his fear of fast movement rather quickly. I am able to halter my "wild" horse in a short amount of time. With Jamie and Kathy watching from the inside of a warm truck I lay down in the dirt with Ari nosing me to see if I live or not. He did not know that people roll in the sand also :) I end our evening with leading him out of the roundpen and part way down the alley to his big pen before I unhalter him.