Hammer, Jack Hammer.

Yes as promised I gave the DOR my extended trot treatment. I trotted and loped for about 25 minutes straight. I didn't stop, no matter how much she begged me. I showed her! Well there is a bit more to the story.....

So here are a few of the DOR's "toys of torture", I could tell right away it wasn't going to be a day of a simply walking around the arena.

I did really well with all the toys. I did blow a few marbles when the DOR moved the bag back and forth across the saddle. All-in-all I showed how much progress I have made.

You think she would be happy with that progress wouldn't you? Well it doesn't help when she has been talking to the trainer. His suggestion was to keep exposing me to new things, push me a bit harder, make me work through the things that make me blow marbles. When I get over blowing marbles over one thing find something else that makes me blow marbles and work on that. Well drat the luck, she paid attention...

She knows my big issue is grocery bags. Even though I did well with the bag on a stick she found a way to up the stakes and you will never believe what she did!

She hung the bag on my saddle horn!!!! I didn't have to do a lot of thinking-in fact I stopped thinking-I was getting out of there. The bag kept following me, there was no escape. I trotted and trotted and the bag just kept flapping along.

I changed directions and it just wouldn't get lost! Every once in a while the bag would get really big and start rocking back and forth, then it would spin around and around getting smaller.

I tried loping...it followed. I tried running to the DOR, she said I had to stay out of her space. Stay out of her space? Tell that bag to get off my back! I ended up breaking a frothy sweat, it was terrible because there was a mare in the arena I was trying to impress. I am afraid I didn't do a very good job. She had a bag of cans hooked to her tail and she didn't care. She had bags of cans hanging off of her saddle, no big deal. I do hope that she noticed that I did not buck once, just trotted to beat the band. I finally decided the bag had been bounced around enough so I stood still. The DOR came over and took the bag off of the saddle and put it in her pocket...good thing for the bag.

Here I am posing for the mare, she should be impressed. Even sweaty I am goooood looking!

The DOR and I are thinking over today's lesson. She had a lot of thinking to do, I have it all figured out...bags are not my friend! I don't know what the DOR is thinking, I hope it isn't about bags.

Here I am after I got unsaddled. As you can see I had worked really hard. I got a good brushing, a rub down, lots of praise, and best of all I got treats! I guess I could learn to live with bags if it means I get treats!

Enjoy your day and don't forget to hug your DOR