He can TROT! (and canter too)

One of my biggest concerns, when we first brought Boo home, was that he didn't want to trot, canter, or gallop when turned out. It was just plain weird - here you have a well-bred young Thoroughbred, outwardly healthy, but all he wants to do is amble and stand around. Even with encouragement, the most I could get him to do in the first month he was here was a little trot. I got maybe 3 whole canter strides from him that first month.

Everything changed late last week. I'm not sure if it's that he's relaxed now, or that the joint supplements are working, or his feet are feeling good (they aren't "bad" feet per se, but he has very flat, thin soles and one front foot with a freaky angle), or what. But I had him on the lunge line, and he actually offered a trot rather than needing to be pushed into it, and kept it up for a bit.

The next time, he not only offered a trot, but also a canter, and looked for more of that as well. And he's been steadily building on this, every day. Today, rather than use the line, we free lunged in the arena - which, it turns out, is the solution to his doesn't-lunge-to-the-right-yet issue, for now, because he'll go in lovely free circles to the right all day long. And he trotted and cantered and walked and even started to stretch his back a tiny bit. (hooray!)

Then after, we worked more on leading - in the arena, with no lead rope, just him following me, learning to watch my cues. Foofy Natural Horsemanship stuff, I call it; but the stuff that works and that's really worth its salt.

Here are some photos from today. My battery died before I could get any good canter pics; we can title the one here "NOT your Derby winner!"
But that trot - well, if he can do that under saddle, I might yet have to ride an Intro A or B test on him. *grin*