Some of us in the RAC have personal December challenges, and mine (inspired by Betsy and spurred on by Donna) is putting Ah-D to a cart. We actually have gathered a decent amount of ground driving under our belt over the years, so this is a good challenge for us. It will require a fair bit of work and determination and time, yet is attainable.
Day One: We are not starting at the beginning (thank God!) because he already is very familiar with the harness, happy with his simple open bridle fitted with a Mylar bit, and ACTUALLY WILL MOVE FORWARD AWAY FROM ME to ground drive. Sounds simple and easy, but it was a huge obstacle for us! Didder lacked confidence and wanted to be in my pocket, and he just didn’t GET IT that he was supposed to walk out ahead of me. 
Phew! We are past that point! On to Blog I. Early this morning, I took my XL thighs, my trusty pony and my five Labs out on the trail to traverse Jason’s Loop. I was pretty darn happy with the outcome. Gee and haw are really clicking with Ah-D, and I am doing my best to keep them straight. 
We practiced WHOA a lot, and STAND just as much. His attitude was pretty good. We did have one oopsie moment when he kicked out at me, but I just said, “HEY, HEY, AAAAAATTT!” and took it down a notch
and had him stand to chill for awhile while we discussed it calmly, verbally and non-verbally. The air is quite brisk, and he was feeling rambunctious, so I made sure that I didn’t blow the episode out of proportion. I mean, there I am right beside his butt, so if he really wanted to, he could lambaste me good – but he didn’t. 
His attitude actually improved afterwards. Back at the barn, we practiced our side passing, since Ah-D is going to have to learn how to step sideways and push the shafts over to turn the cart around. A successful lesson for both of us, SWEET!
