 out his life. There are going to be distractions. There are going to be things that draw his attention and there's going to be moments where I've got to take that attention that he's got elsewhere and bring it to me and on the task at hand. It's essential that we think about what are the good qualities that I see in my horse and I try to bring those out more and more and more. But now when I'm brushing him, I'm going to think about the same sorts of ideas. The idea of him keeping his feet still and maybe as I brush, I don't like to tie my horses initially, especially when I haven't done a lot with them. I like to do things where they're just in hand, but when I brush, I'm watching his face. I can see his nose is soft here. I can see that he's enjoying it. I can see that there's going to be spots that he's going to really like and really appreciate. And when he does, I might spend a little time right in that area. And then I might just do a little something. I'm going to put my hand here. I'm going to stay focused on him being grounded and relaxed. And I'm going to ask him to bend around good and bring his head good all the way my way. And that's so nice. I came up with the idea in my head and he was right there with it. So there's that idea of thinking about what you would like your horse to do, having a clear picture at the front of your mind of what it is you'd like them to do. And then when they do it, you know that that came right from you, right from your thoughts, which is a really cool feeling. And that's the neat part about horses, is they can feel your ideas and thoughts and they can shape themselves to that when you're thinking these things. This is why it's important that if you have any negative things or behaviors that you see in your horse that you don't want to have happen, you don't focus on those things and you don't picture those things because unfortunately you're going to get more and more of that. Good. Very nice. This particular horse, he's been ridden twice in his life. One was probably, oh, maybe six years ago. And the other time was maybe four years ago. So he's had a couple short little rides. But I want to get him used to me being in this position. And I want him to be comfortable with me just kind of leaning on him. So I'm going to tell him, put your head on straight. So get your head up that way. Good. And I'm going to just spend some time here without you bent around. And I'm going to put my arm over him and get him comfortable with that. Now he did take a couple steps back. So let's see if he can walk forward with me in this zone. Good. Good. And then I might stretch tall. That's my cue in my body for when I want my horses to halt. It comes through from my core here. So when I stretch tall, I am asking him to slow down. I'm in the position that I'll be in when I'm riding him. So he's used to being aware of my body feel and responding to me when I'm in a position that's not right up by his head. So that was real nice. And then I'm going to add another piece in. So we've got bending him around. That's looking good. The next thing I'm going to do is I'm going to bend him around. And then I'm going to put a little pressure here by his girth area or just slightly behind. Good. Where my leg would be. And ask him to move his hind quarters. I do want to make sure I've got a clear differentiation between bending and staying put and bending and moving. So we're going to bend and stay put here. Good. Very nice. I'm going to give him a little scratch on the neck. I released my rope so he knows he's doing a good job. And then bending and moving is going to be where I bend him. And I bring my life up. He already felt that. And then I'm putting a little pressure here where the girth would be. That clear differentiation is going to be important because there might be some situations where life gets kind of exciting where he gets a little bit emotional. And therefore I need to be able to bend him to a halt and have him relax and let down. And that's another thing I build into my sessions is I want him to know that he should bring his energy down, bring his life down and just relax during the session. So that's something that I'm asking him to do. So now he needs to move a little. I can see that he's got some ideas here about moving around. And I need to be respectful of that. I'm going to need him to move anyway at some point. Bring him up to a trot again. And then I'm going to bring him in. And it's not quite there. That's fine. Back him up. Good. And we'll try it again. When I send him out and I'm going to send him back this direction, I think about his feet. So we step back first, get your weight on your hind quarters, shift and step over. That looks nice. That was better. Him moving off there was much better. And then I'm going to see if he can follow me and good. And then a quick stop and we'll see if we can back up. So these are some things I'd like to start seeing out of him is I want him to come to me with some pizzazz. I'm supporting my idea with the line and with getting his life up initially. But then I want him when he comes to me to be able to stop, not invade my space and take his energy backwards with still some life. I want I want to see that life. And then I might again reward him a little bit. I'm asking him to stay put with my hand with my brush here. And I'm going to let him know he did a nice job. This particular horse is definitely one that's very oral. He likes to explore the world with his mouth. And when I'm working with my horses, I'm aware of their tendencies. So he's definitely one that I'm feeding out of a pan versus my hand, because I don't want him to get even more oral around me. We're staying there area. So I might move him over here back up again. And I can see he's looking a little beyond me. He sees things going on over there. And what I want him to do is focus on me. So I'm going to reach my hand down. I'm going to see if he can drop his head and relax good. And at least have me in his mind. He's maybe still going to be focusing on whatever is going on over there. That's okay. But I need to be able to bring him back. I need to reach down. I need to say, Hey, relax a little, pay attention. And I'll give him a pat. And then we'll come back to work. But if he looks up ahead again, not a big deal. It's just an opportunity for me to bring his mind back to me to bring his attention back to me throughout his life. There are going to be distractions. There are going to be things that draw his attention. And there's going to be moments where I've got to take that attention that he's got elsewhere and bring it to me and on the task at hand. And therefore, I'm not seeing this as a, Hey, don't look over there situation. I'm thinking about what are the things that I can build in that are going to be beneficial? What do I like about the situation? Well, I like that I'm able to direct him back to me to teach him how to focus, to relax a little, drop your head down a little and be okay and present with me.