6/29/09 day 16

At the start of every training session, Kirstin reviews what Tuff has learned. He is getting really good about standing still to have his hooves pickedup. Kirstin is holding his hooves up for longer periods of time and has started pounding on them to get him used to having work done on them.

She has also started lungeing Tuff on a lunge line. Tuff has mastered directional changes, stopping and facing up to Kirstin when she asks for a stop. He is even starting to recognize verbal cues. He did show his yearling side a couple of times when he decided he wanted to lope and kick up his heels. Kirstin just simply kept him going at a lope until she decided he needed to slow down. By the time they were through, Tuff decided that Kirstin should decide his speed and not him because he had to work harder when he chose the speed.

Tuff's not too sure about this. Look at the expression-the curve of his neck, the ears pointing straight at her boots, but he stood still even though he wasn't sure what was going on. What the heck is she doing? Kirstin had gotten dirt in her boots and had to clean them out.

After their training session, Kirstin decides that it is time to get Tuff used to water. This is the first time that Tuff has shown any kind of disagreement with what Kirstin has asked of him. He just isn't too sure about the wet stuff coming out of the green thing.

By the time they were through, Tuff decided that the green thing wasn't going to hurt him and that the wet stuff actually felt really good considering the past 2 weeks have been 100+ degrees.