I dont often feel as though I want to share my thoughts on my Pony training as I tend to think people don't want to listen to it, however this time I just wanted to write up something short on a few trust exercises that my Handler and I practiced.
We tend not to have to opportunity to train.. What with the Great British weather and living with relatives, our chances to get outdoors and practice are very limited.
This week we had a small stroke of luck; One of the residents we share with got called away on family matters, and the other tends to keep to himself for most of the day.
It was yesterday evening, sitting relaxed on our comfy sofas that I decided to ask if Handler wanted to do some reigning exercises.. In the past we had had little success with reigning, as I simply could not tell when he was signalling me to switch directions and such. I put this down to the cushiony rubber bit that we have, as it simply flexed in my mouth as apposed to pointing me in the desired direction. Luckily, we'd recently gotten a new, more harsh bit with little-to-no flex in it, meaning that I should feel reign movements a lot better and with a lot less force on His end.
He tacked me up in simple attire; Just my new bit and reigns, followed by a blind fold. Now, the area we were working in was small to say the least; Our house has a circuit layout, where all the rooms on the lower floor are linked to one another by doors.. Perfect for testing my response to the bit. He reassured me about the blindfold, telling me that this was because I was familiar with the track and would automatically turn when necessary instead of listening to my bit.
I found myself straight away in a deep headspace.. I was suddenly my Pony, nervous and unsure about the blackness of the once familiar space. My ears and mouth became my eyes, telling me when I was closer to some walls than others. Before moving out, I took a moment to adjust to the new bit between my teeth.. It can be difficult to control salivation when you don't have a flexible bit, and stiffness prevents oneself spitting out the bit when it became uncomfortable, another thing that struck panic when I realised I couldn't do this. I settled quickly, feeling the gentle, reassuring tautness of Handler's reigns behind me.
He clucked at me to move out and I gingerly stepped forward at a laughably slow pace, feet picking their way over seemingly unfamiliar ground. Moments a go I could have navigated these hallways with my eyes closed, but under the guidance of the bit and reigns I felt nervous in this seemingly new environment. Panic tore through me every time we approached a door way.. Although my eyes were masked and closed underneath, I could sense the narrowness of the doorway and this really, really frightened me. I stalled a couple of times at these moments, tossing my head and stepping back uneasily. A gentle tug on the reigns was enough to bring me back to focus, and Handler would gently guide me through and I never did bump myself once, despite the almost claustrophobic fear that wracked me every time I could tell something was close.
Once we reached our starting point, he gentle slipped off my blindfold and loosened my bit, wiping away the sudden torrent of saliva as I loosened my jaw. He told me I did good and petted me. I smiled and nuzzled in to his palm, pleased with his response to my lesson.
We repeated this routine a couple of times, and each time I was less frightened and even began trotting slowly. He mixed up the route from time to time and I responded well, only getting confused a couple of times. When this happened He would stop, collect me, then continue where we left off.
I was super pleased and felt so proud of myself after this, as each time we repeated this the less frightened I was.
It just goes to show that if you really, really trust your Handler/Dom/Master/Sir, No harm will come to you. He is your eyes and you are his power. I was a good pony.
yousharknotpass
2087
vaporwave
theartofmadeline
