Africa: Our Journey #17 Proud!

What a dreary day here! :(  I'm tired of the snow, ice, and clouds. And now it's a wet mist filling the air with haze.

Now that I have complained about the weather, I must say that when I go to the barn to spend time with Africa, the gloom seems to disappear.

It's not horribly muddy yet, so with his blanket on he stays clean.  Like always when I call his name, he head comes up to look at me.  When I go into the pasture, walk toward him and then wait, he comes to me ready for a rub and the halter.  I love that!

Today we worked on Liberty.  I'm trying not to use my hands or stick, but only move into and out of his space to push him away or draw him to me.  He is doing quit well at the Figure 8 and sticks to me at the walk and gait. 

This afternoon we played with Sideways game over a pole on the ground.  I tried to draw him towards me so he straddled the pole.  He had trouble understanding what I wanted so I put his lead on and used it only as a safety connection for me.  There was no tension on the lead. It just hung from his halter.  Once he straddled the pole he offered going sideways.  When the lead came off, Africa was able to complete the Sideways game at Liberty.  I was so proud of him!