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Hi Donne; What a great start. You both look like your made for each other. I thought that Shilo looked relaxed and was enjoying the ride. A small dressage whip might help you two in the turns to keep his momentum going forward. A light tap or two on the outside hip would do the trick ;just as a reminder. I am very happy for you two.
Bud

Thank you Bud.
Can you see on the video when Shilo stops and then I puff him on the side of his neck with the end of my reins, he kind of 'jerks' and then moves forwards?
Is that wrong to do?
Does it have to be on the hip?
I have seen so many videos and people do so many different things that it's difficult to know which is best.
Also, I saw a 'cowboy' riding his young horse, he rode the horse in a circle and then 'opened the door' allowing the horse to walk straight for a few steps, and then again in a circle.
Is that method used only to prevent possible bucking and bolting?

Dionne

Dionne, what I mentioned is a small item, but it will help you smooth out and connect the his motion as he enters into each corner. He is learning the feel of carrying a rider and just trying to connect the dots. A quick tap on the outside hip [softly] should keep his movement flowing. This also sends the message to that leg that the opposite front leg will be in the lead for his next move. Another suggestion that might help is to move your left leg forward while entering a turn to to the left. This serves as a pre-cue for the direction that you want him to move into while setting him up to be in a left lead. This should be done in concert with the tap on the hip. You probably will not have to the tap more than two or three times as this is an irritant to the horse and they will learn to keep going without the reminder of the tap. If this is practiced at a walk on a consistent basis, he and you will control the maneuver and deposit into your muscle memory banks. Then later on when things are coming at you at a faster clip, this will be solid in your communication with each other.
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. Keep reaching for that soft feel with the reins and let your fingers talk to him. SOFTNESS, SOFTNESS, SOFTNESS; there were times on the video that Shilo was on the cusp of presenting an elegant walk. So i would suggest to keep on doing what your doing, because i saw a lot of harmony between the two of you.
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.What you mentioned about riding in and out of a circle is an exercise to that will further your skills in direction seeking while preventing boredom on Shilo`s behalf from going around the ring in one direction and then the other. It will help to keep his mind open and sharp. He will be looking to you for more direction. THAT`S A GOOD THING.
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. I hope this helps you
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Bud

Thank you very Much for the tips and advice Bud.
I really do appreciate that you spend time writing to me with such good advice.
Thank you.

Dionne

Hey Dionne, so how is it going ?

Hi Lucie. It's going really well, thank you for asking.
I am TRYING to ride every day, but the weather here is what decides !!
I'm working on steering and keeping Shilo going without stopping before I ask him too!,
I have bought a short dressage whip as Bud said I should and yes, it works, though Shilo doesn't like it, I never have used a whip on him before, but I only tap him on his butt with it so I'm not ' whipping' him.
It's going very well with his bit, also with him accepting it without a treat and only verbal praise.
What about you and Dayka? And did you buy the other horse you wrote about?
Dionne

Hi Dionne and Lucie. I am happy to hear that you and Shilo are getting after it on a daily basis. That is GREAT. The routineness will pay HUGE DIVIDENDS for you.
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.A tip that will help you and Shilo directionally is when you encourage him to walk on and he is headed on a left circle would be to tap him on the RIGHT side hip. This energizes the right hind leg and is one more communication from you as to the direction you wish him to move toward as he would be moving toward a left lead. This will really help further down the line with HIS decision making as to what your asking of him. The tap with the whip is only used as a reinforcement if he is NOT moving off of your calf when you squeeze your leg. I find that this is a source of irritation for the horse as he does not like it and he will soon be moving off of leg pressure as a result.
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The sequence of cues would be squeeze, tap, only if he doesn`t move, move your left forward to indicate what direction and lead he is to be on, and lift the left rein. These are all done while you are visualizing a left direction for Shilo to move toward. With practice, you will find that all you have to do is think left and he will automatically move that way. The beauty part of this whole scenario is that he will be learning all of this initially and does not have to be re-trained.
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I hope this helps

Bud

I can relate with what you're saying Dionne, I also felt bad for using my dressage whip with Dayka at first but the truth is, we know we would never use it to hurt them so if it help give them that little extra motivation to progress in our sessions with them i think it's ok to use them.
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I haven't ridden a lot since the end of july, i've had health and work problems and have't really felt like doing a lot more than cuddling Dayka :)
I did ride her today, she was so good, she's spoiling me ! I still ride off the dually and we're both really well adjusted to it now, she's more cooperative and i am softer so it's more enjoyable for both of us I think.
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Today we did our first strides of canter actually. I was trotting her and she jumped into it really nicely, she didn't pull the reins or buck as she does at liberty so i let her have her canter. It actually felt like she had better balance in the canter than in the trot, i think that's because i had my stirrups a bit long so i had a hard time trotting in sync.
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On Saturday we'll be doing our first ride with another horse, i can't wait, I think Dayka will really enjoy having another horse with her and it'll be a nice change for me