Working with Jazz: Day 2

DAY 2 (12/31/2017): ROUND-PEN DAY! Since we FIRMLY believe in use of the round pen to establish communication and respect we began Jazz’s reality shift in the round pen. We “de-rednecked” the round pen for Jazz. It is all about baby steps in the beginning. We removed the obstacles and scary objects (they WILL go back in later) and introduced Jazz to the pen. Once he got comfortable with the surroundings we got down to working with his understanding of C.P.R (Clarity, Patience and Release). We worked at liberty (off the lead line) and then on the lead line through a variety of exercises. The goals today was simple. Begin to establish trust and leadership. We use a “16 point evaluation” on the first round pen session which helps to establish a starting point for the horse’s program.

Like so many horses, Jazz was not prepared to round pen with intent and focus. He raced around the pen, doing his own thing and didn’t really seem to care that a human was in the pen with him. We let him be a goof for a while and then caught his attention and began to work on “The Draw.” Once we were getting consistent direction and gait we began to test reactions to pressure use just our body language (a quiet conversation) and then the use of a stick-and-string. Jazz likes to block (with his head) his right side. So we worked on doing more on that side. We desensitized, we rubbed and we lead from the right side (he was a bit clueless about that) and a variety of other actions. In short we caught his mind and then his body began to follow. We worked at liberty and on the lead line. We worked on getting Jazz to “follow the feel” of pressure on the halter, to have a more controlled hindquarter yield and even worked on some forequarter yields (again, clueless but he gave up good efforts.

Our first round pen session is always about establishing a starting point. This helps us understand what the horse needs and where their learning curve is. It also helps us to make that connection and get consistent reactions to cues. Time spent in the round pen in the first week or so is an investment in the happiness of the horse and human.

Check out this video and pictures.

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