Catching Up - Recent Play Sessions

I have been so busy lately I haven't had time to update my blog, so I had a half-day at school today and decided today was the day to come and update! So I have had a couple of play sessions since last time in which I have just been practicing the patterns with Woody and riding around a bit doing point to point. I have also been helping Mom with understanding the patterns and helping her with Charlotte. Woody has been doing well, especially with the Figure-8 and Weave patterns, and also has really been improving with his circles and traveling circles. He has been really thinking OUT while also keeping connected to me at the end of the rope. I have been practicing his change of direction also, and I am so proud because he has been able to keep his gate while changing. His look on everything has also improved (not as much ears back but a positive attitude and attitude).
I have also recently been playing with water with him. Unfortunately we are not able to play in the pond with the horses (very slick and muddy on the banks), so I have been playing with the hose! He is getting a lot more confident with having the water stream and me with the hose behind zone 2. Also, we played a Squeeze game (#7) between me and the fence with a tweak! I pointed the stream of water so he would have to walk through by me. At first he wanted nothing to do with it, but once he got confident with it, he began to enjoy it.
So, he has been doing well, working toward our dream a step at a time.
Also, something I thought was really cool that he offered was when I went to throw hay to them in the evening, I gave him an apple core I had, and after scratching and loving him for a bit, I started walking and then running toward the barn. He followed me and when I started running he started cantering along with me, shaking his head a bucking but not passing me and staying with me. He had such a positive expression on his face, that I started trotting and he came right down with me. Have I mentioned I LOVE MY PONY? He is just so incredible and only gets better from here!
~Eden