Saturday night: So I figured, it will be nice to just saunter around the property while Prophecy is on her small lay up, let's practice some of her old round pen work, nice and calm, walk around. NOT. In retrospect, I forgot a teaching rule: Before doing any work you haven't done in awhile, review it, activate background knowledge.
What I did, instead, was lead Prophecy to the middle of the round pen and let her loose. What followed is an example of how strongly horses (all animals but especially our sensitive equine pals) keep old information. "Oh, I remember round pens! This is where I spin in uncontrollable circles at a full gallop!" Even though she hasn't been allowed to do that in over a year. So after I finally caught her (thank God she wasn't physically bothered by it), we practiced quiet leading with much attention on halting calmly and quickly. Then we went back to walking off lead in the round pen, changing directions, and halting. Boy, wish I thought of doing the manners review first.
Things done wrong: Review old material! I'm an English teacher for Lord's sake! I should not neglect that step.
Things done right: I try to never be that person who blames the horse for misbehavior, and I succeeded in quickly realizing my mistake. Luckily she was sound, and me catching her and staying calm (not annoyed) contributed to ending on a good note.
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