Headcollar and Leading

Titch came with a headcollar on but I bought another and started practising putting it on and off over the top of the original.  That took a few days, where at first he would walk backwards away from the headcollar, until I read about Sarah Weston's tip, which made it very much easier.

Wearing a riding hat and gloves, I began to lead him around in the stable. At first, obviously he did not understand what I was asking, so I stood a way in front of him with eyes still lowered so as not to further halt his forward motion. I held the rope gently and ran each of my hands in turn along the rope from him towards me, so I was not pulling him but creating a bit of a vibration as the rope drew through my hands.  I encouraged him with the words 'come on then, Titch, come on then' and really invited him with my heart to come and get a face scratch.  The split second he looked in my direction I slackened the rope and softened my stance as his release/reward.  I went again and this time kept going till he took a step forward. Again immediate slack in the rope and soft stance from me as his reward.  Slowly, slowly catchy monkey! Step by step we went, over several sessions and several days, so that by day 8 I felt confident enough to lead him around our yard and back to his stable.

The next day we extended that by taking him a bit further, so that now he has walked out on about 6 days going further each time and starting to see a bit of the world.  Yesterday we had to pull over on our very narrow lane to let the bin waggon come past.  Thankfully they switched off their flashing orange lights, but Titch was so not bothered and just kept munching his favourite thing - autumn ash leaves fallen from the trees and hazel leaves.  Today we walked up to a new house-build, where he touched an empty wooden cable reel, a stack of bricks, some plastic, walked over the plastic, which I then dragged behind me all the way home.  We stop every now and again to visit the larder that is our lane's hedgerow and move off again when I chose, using the now familiar phrase 'come on then Titch, come on'!  He is already putting my other horse to shame who spooks at logs and pigeons flying away and anything else really!