He's just so smart :)

Today was an awful day it rained and rained and rained but provided me with a good excuse to see how well Harrys umbrella lessons sank in.

Now I'm not the sort of person that does something with a horse over and over again until he "gets it". I do the normal everyday sort of stuff, um, everyday so I pick up all his feet and run my hands all over him even his privates!

And he gets fairly regular walks although not everyday and not much recently as he seems to be growing A LOT and I don't want to ruin young joints. He's fine on walks and fine even when he's been left for a month or two so there's not much to improve on there you know?

So anyway the same with new stuff, I prefer to introduce him to it and see how he reacts, if he's scared do a bit more with him and hopefully finish on a good note - the good note being that he's realised it's not scared. And then just leave it so the next time he sees it he'll think ah, that wasn't scary last time! That's my theory anyway.

So last time we did any umbrellas he was getting nuts every time he touched the brolly, so hopefully he learnt that brollys = nice voice from mummy and nuts and head rub.

Today I went out with my less scary blue brolly. The wind decided to turn up at this point and kept trying to blow it inside out! Ah wind! Grr.

Nick being away when I did the whole brolly stuff previously ran off when he saw me which set the other two off, but then I started talking to them so they all realised it was me and then Harry after having some grass for a few minutes came straight over and stood there while I stroked him then went round his side and started scratching his neck - still with my brolly all high and scary above my head! The last time I was with him and my brolly he was happy letting me stroke his face but didn't want me going round the side. Today he wasn't bothered! I guess my theory works. On Harry anyway :D

Other smart stuff he does, I realised I had taught him to stay and come completely by accident just I'd been doing it the same way so he'd worked it out all himself, smart boy.

He also hasn't forgotten the bow and is always putting his head down when I pick up his feet to see if we're going to do it.

And then I was watching a frenchman doing some tricks with his pony, one of them was the horse would nudge his bottom when he turned around, so I thought as Harry already knows "come" which is I open and close my hand in front of me, I wonder if he would do it with my back to him?

So the other day I was telling him to "stay" then walking away, put my hands behind my back and bend forward a bit and open and close my hand, and Harry walked straight up and put his nose in my hand, at which point I turned round said Good Boy! and gave him a stroke. Did this several times and he kept doing it, ah so smart didn't even need any treats :) Love my pony :)