Hi, all. I am starting (yet again) my mini gelding for driving. My plan is to start with lungeing (again) and move on to ground driving. The problem is that I can't get him to canter on lunge line. He changes direction, walks, trots, and halts from both sides. He is a very laid back guy. I mean....LAID BACK. He is 22 and I have had him since he was 2. He has been a pasture potato for his whole life and is a bit spoiled! Ok, maybe more than a bit (*blushes*).
I have dreams of doing training level CDE events (just to finish and not to win) with him and taking him on trail drives. I want him to be comfortable cantering and stopping from the canter in case someday in harness he canters or spooks, shocking himself by breaking into a canter. His trot is also very slow but he happily plods along (slowly) with ears forward. When I free lunged him and tied a plastic bag to a crop, he would break into a normal trot with.....dare I say....impulsion and energy. I could even get him to canter. But, then I got paranoid that I was sensitizing him to plastic and worked on desensitizing him to plastic until he stopped reacting to plastic- so there went that. As a side note, we did lots of John Lyons type groundwork stuff and he definitely respects me and my space. I don't believe it is a respect issue. How can I get him to canter on lunge and is it even necessary from a safety standpoint? Thank you in advance!!!!!!
I have dreams of doing training level CDE events (just to finish and not to win) with him and taking him on trail drives. I want him to be comfortable cantering and stopping from the canter in case someday in harness he canters or spooks, shocking himself by breaking into a canter. His trot is also very slow but he happily plods along (slowly) with ears forward. When I free lunged him and tied a plastic bag to a crop, he would break into a normal trot with.....dare I say....impulsion and energy. I could even get him to canter. But, then I got paranoid that I was sensitizing him to plastic and worked on desensitizing him to plastic until he stopped reacting to plastic- so there went that. As a side note, we did lots of John Lyons type groundwork stuff and he definitely respects me and my space. I don't believe it is a respect issue. How can I get him to canter on lunge and is it even necessary from a safety standpoint? Thank you in advance!!!!!!