Saturday and Sunday fun

Well, on Saturday, 2/27, I set up a large box using the 8-foot poles.  We used this box for trot-overs, lope-overs, side-passing, and turn-arounds.  The most challenging exercise that we performed was what I call a "U-turn" inside the box at a trot.  Sarah is required to trot into the box, and turn 180 degrees and trot out again, all without breaking stride.  We did this several times.  Sarah never hit the sides of the box, though she came close at first.  She learned to rate her stride after awhile, and make tighter turns.  When Sarah did her lope-overs, she was very good about placing feet and never hit a pole, and never broke stride.  She did well both directions.

On Sunday 2/28, I set up a back-through "L", again with the 8-foot poles.  These poles were set up with 3 feet of space between them, making them appropriate for trot-overs as well.  However, this made for a tight back-through obstacle.  Sarah did quite well with this, but she was not perfect.  We need to work more on these in the near future.  I will need to set up a bit more complex back-through obstacle next time I think, to keep her attention.  The first time she backed through, we had no problems; the next time, she ticked a pole.  She was getting bored, and wasn't paying as much attention as the first time through.  This seems to happen when Sarah is "drilled" on something that she does perfectly fine the first time.  The clue here for me is to catch the exercises that she excels at the first time, and then change it up in some way so as not to turn it into a drill.  Drills only work for Sarah if she doesn't understand the obstacle the first time and needs more practice.
The trot-overs went well, as did the side-passing.  We still need to work a little more on side-passing to the left than to the right.

Overall, a nice workout from Sarah.  The usual Sunday "manicure", and cubes and peppermints all around.  A great way to start a new week!