Game of Contact: Day 1

After watching the Game of Contact all weekend, I was eager to get started.

Yay!

I didn't have a whole lot of time today so I planned to spend it just hanging out with Sonny. That made it a perfect time to just put the bridle on and relax.

I have played with the bridle before, but haven't even touched it in over a month. Just to catch up the new readers, Sonny has a lot of emotional baggage attached to bits. So a few months ago I started out very, very, slowly with things like 'Touch-it' with the bridle. Eventually we built up enough confidence over the weeks to put it on. But, I still felt like we were missing something so I decided to hold off until I had enough funds to buy the Game of Contact.

After watching the DVDs, it finally clicked that Sonny needs to be the one to seek the bit. I understood that I shouldn't have to pry his open his mouth, but I always held the bit right in front of his muzzle. Linda clearly shows that the horse needs to seek the bit.

So today I dusted the bridle off and just held it up. Sonny immediately went after it. Huh, how interesting! Although he kept grabbing the side of the bridle, I was so happy that he was still putting effort into figuring out the answer. It didn't take him long to grab the bit and I rewarded with one of his favorite apple treats. After that, he kept searching for the bit. How cool!

After a few times I put the bridle on and continued to groom and hang out with him. He was chewing more than I would have liked; I want to have a PP double check that it is fitting correctly, but I think he is still just unconfident. I played with some bit isolations and was so surprised by how well he did. With the lightest pressure he would stretch. What a good sign! Even after a month he still retained that concept, which thrills me!

I plan on just bridling for 4 to 7 days. I hope by the end he is more quiet with the bit. Then I plan on starting to play with him online (with his halter on under the bridle), then slowing working to playing freestyle (without reins). Finally, I hope to start at least stage 1 or 2 before the end of June. With all the of the farm stuff going on, I don't have a whole lot of time so I am not sure how well my plan is going to work but we'll see!

So cute :)