In between clinics in Arizona,  I brought home a horse for a month of BLESS training.

 This is an older horse that , for his whole life , had been ridden with his frame upside down. He also is a nervous horse by nature and the combo has been disastrous. The owner has good skills, but this horse needed extra help. He is so high headed that when I started to ask him to lower his head on cue,  he started to have small spasms in his lower jaw and was scared about how he felt. We have been working on nothing but relaxation exercises and now , after 3 weeks of work , he is walking well with his head down , engaging his backend , and is happy. Once we get him on this program and is seeking the relaxation that comes from a long low frame, the owner will easily be able to take over and the horse and rider will both benefit from the work that we are doing on the horse.

 As I have said before, to go forward with your training, you sometimes have to go backwards. When you hit a wall, its easier to go back and find out where your hole is.

 With this horse, we went back all the way to riding him just in a rope halter, giving him no reason to fear our hands and a bit.He has responded beautifully. At some point I will put him back in a snaffle, but for now, he is happy and I'm leaving well enough alone. I'm having fun with him now that he is relaxed and happy.