Learning lunging

I'm not even sure if I spell lunging correctly, but you horse-people will let me know if I'm wrong, right?

So, Poor Durango....he has this awkward new owner who can't even seem to handle the carrot, lungline and him all at the same time without getting tangled.  I new I was giving him mixed signals when he would be trying SO hard and then just stop, and look at me with his head high as tho he was saying "would you make up your mind???"

I couldn't help but laugh...

I feel it's important to "go back" and make sure I'm not doing things in a sloppy manner while trying to teach him things.  Just because I've been riding for 5 years now, doesn't mean I've necessarily been doing everything right.  I mean it's pretty hard to screw up sitting in the saddle, using your legs to steer Jesse, and drinking a Mike's at the same time.  He was just so trail savvy, he knew what to do and where to go.  Well, this new horse is ripe for the training, and I decided I didn't want to ruin him, by giving him so many mixed cues he'd just give up on me.

So, I decided to go back to the basics and have my trainer "correct" what she see's I might be doing wrong.   So, she watched me lunging, and then stepped in when she'd seen enough.  I caught on quite quickly from her, she gave me clear tips.  Like:

1. Quit giving so many clucks and using them for more than one thing. 

2. Have "specific" verbal cues to go along with the right body movements.

3. I learned "where" to stand at the time of lunging him, and where to stand when stopping and turning him.

4. I learned to stop him, have him looking at me as I change the carrot and line into the opposite hands so he would learn that when I do that, he's going to be changing direction.

It only took me a couple times and I had him going in clear directions.   He is such a fast learner.  

But.....He got new shoes the other day, and he was still tripping today.  Shoer said he thinks he might just not know the proper placement of his feet yet.  Evidentally, these are "corrective" shoes.  So, I'm putting bell boots on him to prevent him from knocking off the front shoes as they were custom made with little knobs on the ends of them.  Shoer says he'd like to see him grow more foot, almost like the previous shoer had cut too much off him?

But, I'm hoping he gets the hang of it soon, because I'm not a fan of his rear tripping.

I just have to tell you!  Today, when I went for my lesson, he looked up when I got out of the car and watched me.  Well, I had to turn around, come home and get my boots.  As I was leaving, he had his neck stretched up high looking at me as tho to say...."Hey, wait, where ya going??"  It was cute, because that's the first time he's shown any idea that he even cares that he's mine.