Luscious Ludo and the lost lamb.
 

We went for our third hack today. I got on and he immediately marched straight out of the yard and down the hill. He couldn't wait to get going!It was extremely windy and he did a series of half halts at stuff blowing in the wind, but no serious hesitation, and we stomped down the hill, until .....A rustle in the undergrowth at the side of the bank, about three feet up off the road brought him to a standstill. He stopped, he tried half heartedly to turn back, he stared, he froze ... I tapped him lightly on the shoulder and he rushed past the moving undergrowth, and frightened a lost lamb out of its wits. We went a bit further than we did last time. Had no trouble with a couple of cars and a couple of cycles. In the narrow lanes, I turn to face cars when they are real babies. You'd think he might not want to turn away from home again, but there was no problem. In fact most of the time he's trying to trot further away, even though I could hear someone at home calling him, and he was answering. It's a joy to be on such a forward horse even if he does currently string no more than three strides the same length together :).So coming home we climbed the hill, and the fierce horse-eating lamb was there again. Only this time it knew that its mother was further down the road than Ludo. As it came at him he tried to run home, but I held him and he ran on the spot. He was truly scared, but he stayed mentally and physical 'with' me. He's got some character :) His go-to if he isn't allowed to go where he wants at the speed he wants is to flash out his forelegs in a Spanish walk. When I schooled him a few days ago he did two strides of Spanish trot, followed by four of passage. It felt great!! Then he gave me the right bend I'd asked him for :DI have changed him from a lozenge bit into a copy Myler comfort. He was being too fussy with his mouth for my liking, and he's a lot steadier in this one. It seems he isn't keen on tongue pressure. He's got a delightfully soft mouth, very responsive, so I just need to find what he likes best. Because he's worth it !

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