So after a lot of trouble Freckles is over whatever happened in my absence early last year and is back to allowing me to lunge him - except that he refuses to be driven and rarely accepts a line in my hand
he prefers to follow the lunge-whip.
Personally I don't much care whether the whip is in front of him or behind him, as long as we are able to do some cool stuff without him being afraid of it.
Oh yes, his halter is on because I "use" that to let him know it's my turn to choose what we do, and when it's his turn to choose he wears nothing.
In this video I ask him over a raised pole - this is only the 5th day I'm asking it and he still can't/won't do it on the left lead or perhaps it's the slight downhill that bothers him.
If I ask him to target over the trot-poles with his head low he often hits the poles but is slowly getting better. He has always done well over the poles with his neck in horizontal balance. I think I see the beginnings of some "float" in his pole-work. What do you think?
It's the 3rd time I'm asking him to cross his front legs, and he's slowly getting the idea.
He's quite good about the difference between left and right now, and he's often choosing to trot next to me when I am walking.
His back-up/trot transition is down to one step of walk before trotting and just last week it was still 5 steps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tloRnemxZLE
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and while that produces a good Spanish trot I'm scared he'll actually catch them. 
and he looks all conquering over it :P
it's also how he learned to dismount so carefully 
idea!!
!
