Sonic Boom, Water Jugs and Tarps....

I am slowly but surely adding things to Boom's pen, and a group of water jugs looked like a pretty good thing to use.  (We drink a lot of water and refill jugs - they finally get to a point of being non-usable, so I am recycling them this way)

Batman thought he would check to see if anything was left in them.

First I walked around the pen dragging them along, making a lot of noise.  Boom then made a lot of noise, broke the sound barrier as he blasted to the other side of the pen, and stood there snorting.  I dropped them and walked away, and he decided to check them out.  A lot of sniffing but no pawing them.

I have 2 small pens hooked together, and I am going to hang the jugs from the center of the middle gate so he has to walk by them. 
Here is Boom from up above....

At first he stood in there and just looked at them, then me.  I went to the other pen and moved him around a bit, then he walked thru.  When the jugs touched his rump he skadaddled right thru there as quick as he could.  After a few minutes he was going back and forth, and the rump touching was not a big deal....THEN he figured out he could scoot by without them touching him.  Ha ha!  I bat them around while I am out there and he doesn't care.

I decided that throwing a western saddle around, even my lighter one, was going to be a chore, so I got the surcingle out and threw it over him.  It hangs on his sides and touches him.  He made a "What the heck is that?" face but other than that, no big deal.  This day we did not tighten the girth part. 

Last night I took the tarp off the fence and took a walk with it.  He did not break the sound barrier this time...he just took off at normal horse speed and he became more interested quicker than he did those water jugs. 

It was not long and he was going around the pen, jumping his board, and going over the tarp.  Then we had a little bit of touchy feely, then on it went!!!  He actually handled that quite well.  I put my English saddle pad on top of it to try to hold it on....no such luck.  So he got to experience flapping tarp while he moved around the pen, and he also got to experience the feel of it slowly sliding off. 

This was funny!  He didn't know he could walk, so when he started moving it was in baby steps.  I let him think about it, then we lunged a bit with it on.  He really did great!

I was throwing it around like that is a normal every day occurrence and he still reacts to it, but more in a surprised sort of way instead of a scared out of his gourd sort of way.

I also tightened the surcingle last night.  It took a while, and it isn't totally tight, but tight enough to keep a saddle on a horses back as long as the saddle fits right.  :-)

A little bit of loving after we are done....okay, I am the one who does the loving....he lets me.

Boom is still very independent and bold.  He is paying attention to me most of the time and I am so pleased with him - BUT....isn't there always a BUT?  He still doesn't need me.  As far as he is concerned he was his own leader and it worked out just fine for him.  I am having to work extra hard to show him that I don't want to take away who he is...I just want to add to his experiences. 

The other evening he got mad and started to push me around with his shoulder.  I had to buck up and push him back.  Our discussion was about being on his left side - he said "NO!" and I said "Yes, and it won't hurt."  He started pushing me and I had to push back.  He listened and backed off real quick, but I am going to have to watch myself and be consistent 100% of the time with him.  He is mature, he is bold, he is his own guy.....I am still proving I am worthy of being a leader.

He is pretty darn awesome and I would not trade this guy for another one any day of the week.  They picked good for me.  :-)

Gotta go now.....have a great day everyone!

Until later... Karen and Tripp who remembers the day of wearing the blue tarp and being called a Smurf...whatever that is.  (Try explaining a Smurf to a mustang!)