LIBERTY practice. Boomer had thrown a shoe and couldn\\\'t be ridden. So I took Rio and used him for liberty practice.

Played catching game until he came up to me. Groomed and picked out feet (which were like cement inside hooves) and groomed. Played friendly game for a while until he relaxed. Lowered head and looked at me. Then played 7 games. He did actually really well for not having been worked in several weeks! Worked on circling games and played friendly games in between to keep him relaxed. He had three nervous BMs but hopefully that will decrease over time. We also tried the leading by zone 4 game. At first he had no idea what to do and kept on backing up, but then he caught on. Finished with circling/squeeze games and he was calm and relaxed! Great session.

Rio is an anxious horse who turned cinchy and anxious after spending 9 months stalled (and often lunged for 2-3 hours) at an equestrian center. Consequently when he returned to us, he was a different horse. They twitched his ears so he is ear-shy and very anxious. He can quickly become terrified if trainer exhibits any predatory behavior. We are trying to rehab him through groundwork, gentle cinching and riding. He is showing progress. I did basic Parelli games and circling with him. He was calm so I saddled him and then rode him around the property. He did well! Couldn\\\'t gallop for very long and would then drop his head almost to the ground. Not sure if he\\\'s out of shape or mentally done after an hour?