We had a LOT of fun yesterday afternoon. First off we filmed my March horse agility entry (medium level- so on the lead). It went incredibly well and I have never had so much fun filming an OLHA entry. I felt like Billy was much more willing to give feedback and that we had a really nice connection the whole way through. We were "together" which is something we sometimes lose a bit when filming the on lead agility courses. And... I am so proud of his jump!! The obstacle was for me to walk beside the jump with the horse to jump. And he really launched! Best of all, the entire time it felt like both of us really enjoyed ourselves.
Things I would Like to improve on: less rope flicking to be replaced with more energy and vocal cues. It is really a left over habit of how I used to do things. And I think it stands in the way of us really listening to each other and building more subtle cues/communication. But all up- it still all felt good between us, and at the moment that is the most important thing to me. It felt harmonious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Ad7D2wcEM&feature=youtube_gdata_playerAnd then after we filmed that, I played some chase the tiger with Billy and Toby. Billy was very enthusiastic, while Toby was a little distracted. There are some great parts of the video where Billy gets really expressive. Toby doesn't show his best moves, but shows a glimpse of how he usually plays- very enthusiastically even when he is distracted!
I am so proud of how far we have come. 12 months ago Billy would only just walk after the tiger, now he pounces, strikes, even canters after it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyVukwXjtZI&feature=youtube_gdata_player