When One Gate Closes...

What is it that Mother Superior said in the Sound of Music?  "When God closes a door, he leaves a window open"?  Something to that extent.  I'm waiting patiently for that open window to show up.  Somewhere, that cow cutting mustang of my dreams is out there.  I just wish it was here.  But until it shows up, I'll trudge forward and get done what needs to be done here and now.  Besides, I've got a Trail Challenge to prepare for!

Darling came outside the other afternoon when I was on Oz.  She's not ridden him in the past few weeks and asked if she could climb on.  Of course!  She was happily surprised at how far he'd come and how easy he was to ride in the round pen.  She even dropped to one hand and did a couple of figure 8's with him.  He maintained a steady walk throughout, which is exactly what he'll need once we hit the trail classes down in Oregon.

I mentioned the other day that I like working through gates with my horses.  Stopping, waiting, moving the front and back end of their bodies independently of each other...it builds to better overall body control.  Oz caught on so quickly to giving his rib cage when we were getting him started, and that has helped him figure out gates quite rapidly as well.

I asked Katie to grab a quick video of Oz and I coming through the gate.  I'd already practiced backing through (which he struggles just a little bit with) and walking through forward (it had been impeccable!), and I wanted to capture at least the walk through on a video clip.

As it turned out, once the camera was there, we backed through perfectly (Katie turned it on as she noticed it was going so well), but when Oz realized she was standing there with the camera on our way back in, he had to stop and look and wiggle a bit.  But for a greenie, he's doing well.  We have a long way to go when it comes to actual obstacles, but body control is there!  I guess until my cutting prospect comes along, these are the gates I'll be traveling through!