Breakthroughs

I had a wonderful lesson with Chance yesterday. We concentrated on ground work only and never left the paddock. By the end of the lesson I saw something in him for the 1st time. He was able to go from distracted and a little spooked to soft. He did not shut down at all. He actually has started to test me a little. Normally I wouldn't want to be tested but it was really refreshing to see some new stuff from him. He was using both eyes, I think he really just discovered the muscles that control them. It seemed totally new to him to be able to move them around like he was.

After the lesson I took the girls to the mall to look for dresses. By the time we got home it was dark and raining and Chance was still out in his paddock. I parked the truck left it running because the girls were still in it. As I walked him to his little paddock for the night he was actually snorting at the truck. It was making him uncomfortable and he wanted to 'run' past it. So I helped him run and get away from it. We turned back and did some lead-bys near it until he was able to drop his head and relax. I pet him and we continued our walk to his small paddock. The breakthrough here was that he was able to move his feet. He didn't freeze! He remembered that he has the ability to move when he is afraid and he didn't try to run me over.
He was able to think and look to me for help while moving. Progress!!!