So now I have hives

And I am soooooo itchy!!!!! The benadryl is helping but I didnt want to take it either before driving or working with Lucas so I went a little longer between pills. Not huge lumpy ones but like every hair follicle is itchy just a million little red dots. *Sigh* Most likely its an interaction between all of the drugs (my usual, plus the antibiotic and the nasal spray steroids) but it has happened before when I get super sensitive with my dust allergy. Its been almost 10 years since my last real 'break out' so Im washing everything in my room tomorrow to make sure that's not it.

Lucas was AWESOME tonight. We had a great time driving around and working on keeping him light and forward. Its fun to see how I can manipulate his body with the lines, not the same as having legs on him but its a different perspective on him and his interactions with things. I really think that he becomes a 'jerk' because hes board. All of this driving and doing something new every minute or two (to avoid repetative strain on his front legs) Ive really seen an improvement in his attitude over his riding attitude. If I keep his mind busy he doesn't need to make up stuff to keep his own mind busy. I also managed to turn him out to play for 10 min before I tacked him up and that seems to help his mind frame as well, gives him a chance to get the sillys out.

Home sick

I figured that I should take the day off and have a PJ day. Its also snowing here AGAIN. I did go to the barn last night and took Lucas for another drive. It was intresting, I didnt free lunge him but let him have some time on his own in the indoor before I tacked him up. He spooked bad at the kitten playing in the lumber and in the process of me trying to correct him he ended up tangled in the lines.

Thank god some one hobbled him when he was a youngster! The minute he gets any type of rope around his legs he stops dead. Its saved me twice now. The first time he bucked, and reared and ended up grabing the lungeling between his front feet. He hit the ground, then stopped.

This time, in the spook we got our lines crossed as he spun and ran (he turned left quicker than I could) but within a stride of them getting crossed he stopped and waited for me to untangle him. I know it shouldn't happen, but it does. And thats when him knowing what "whoa" means and knowing that any rope in a wrong place means stop as well.

We did some figure 8's both at the walk and the trot using the whole ring, going large at a walk and a trot. He did great, we did have some stickyness doing some turnes to the right, but some flexing worked him out of them. Then we did some 2 tracking, which he wasnt sure about right way, but he caught on quickly. Hes really driving up underneith himself when using the lines, which is only going to help when I start to ride him again.

Driving!

Well I went out to the barn today and drove Lucas! There was a lesson going on so I brushed him for a bit and booted him up then tied him up until they were done. I turned him out in the indoor for a bit to get his silly's out. He ran good for about 10 min, well I say run but he trotted around a bunch until the snow slid off the roof.... Then he ran!!

So I took him back into the barn and tacked him up... I ended up tying a knot into my stirrup leathers to run the lines though the stirrups. I put him just in his sweet iron mouth D-ring. So away we went.

I haven't driven a horse since 2005! and Im sure its been longer than that since Lucas has been driven. We have worked over the past two weeks with de-sensitizing his sides and legs so I hoped that he wouldn't worry too much about the lines around his legs.

I ran the off side line over the saddle though the stirrup then snapped it to his bit, then did the same thing (but without putting it over the saddle) with the side closest to me. I gathered up my lines and asked him to step off (keeping the off side line over the saddle).

Should I mention at this time that my best friend broke her leg this time last year driving her 2 year old??

So he walked a circle, I was careful to keep myself about in the same position I would be if I was lunging him (I wont step fully behind him unless we are backing, or in the process of changing to the other side) I then stopped him and drooped the off side rope down over his bum and around his hocks. He was fine.

We walked and trotted a couple of circles both directions (walk a circle, trot 1/2, walk a couple of more, change direction and repeat) We weren't so good at changing directions, very similar to the problems that were having under saddle. Head is turning body doesn't follow! But that will come with time. He was confused with backing, but also improved with that as we did it several times.

He was a little spooky about the noises (but he always is in the indoor) but didnt mind the lines at all! So much of an improment from last year when I couldn't even throw a leadline over his back without a HUGE reaction! So were going to keep doing this for a couple of weeks, Lucas was very happy to be back in work again, and was really trying to figure out what I wanted!