[Ravenshadow17]

Today was a big day. It was the day I'd start leading River by her halter. She had grown comfortable wearing the halter but I wasn't sure how she'd react to being led by it. I greeted her this morning and gave her our traditional ear and nose scratch session. Once she was happy and relaxed I put on her halter. She barely reacted. I gave her some more ear scratches with one hand as I attached the lead to the halter with the other hand. With me giving her affection, River didn't seem to notice. Now I unlocked her stall, and began walking backwards. I spoke to her calmly and stepped out until the lead was mostly straight but still relaxed. I then tugging gently on the lead as I took another step back. River seemed completely floored as to why her face was being tugged and tossed her head. I called her to me and she walked forward, seeming to appreciate as the tugging as her face stopped. We repeated this process with me steadily taking more steps. I repeated this for a few days until I could soon lead River around the grounds and pastures without her feeling uncomfortable.

[Ravenshadow17]

Now that River was comfortable being led by a halter it was time to start groundwork. To start out I expanded on her halter training. I led her around the stable grounds and trails, alternating between the lead and partner positions. The trails had hills and tight paths, as well as a creek. I took her through the shallow water and she really loved splashing in the creek so we took a small break to play in the mud. Then it was back to alternating lead and partner positions. I also worked with gesturing where to go at times by tapping a shoulder with either my hand or the rope. It took her a while to realize what my directional taps were but she eventually got the hang of it.

[Ravenshadow17]

Today I started the next part of River's groundwork training. I'd noticed on our walks that she often never wanted to stop. I decided to work on teaching her to start and stop on command. I would walk back until the lead rope was taunt and then call her to me. Before she reached me I'd tell her to stop. If she did not, we started over. But if she did stop I gave her a treat. Then we would continue repeating the exercise until she was right in front of me. For the first few days we did this, River sometimes got frustrated as she just did not seem to understand what I was asking. But as we continued for a few days she begun to put it together. Once I was confident that she would listen, we continued our walks, this time with me randomly telling her to stop. And when she did, she got a treat. Soon she had the hang of it.

[Ravenshadow17]

Now that River was beginning to get better at following my commands, it was time to move forward. I decided to have her start walking in circles. I led her to our training field and walked backwards until there was some space between us. I then used the rope to tap her shoulder, a command I had previously used to change her direction. At the same time I told her to start moving. She seemed confused for a second but began to walk. I used the rope to lead her in a curved path to help her understand what I was asking of her. After a few full circles I told her to stop. Giving her a few treats I then resumed the position but stopped directionally leading her. It took a few tries for her to understand but soon she was walking circles around me as I praised her. Every few circles I would giver her a good ear scratch and then we would repeat the process. After a few sessions of this she seemed to be getting more comfortable.

[Ravenshadow17]

Hex codes:
➤Base black: #222325
➤Base white: #FFFFFF
➤Feathers; purple: #24174C
➤Feathers; light blue: #88BCD2
➤Hoofs:#7C8185
➤Eyes: #6ac3ed

[Ravenshadow17]