Now I'm off sick !

It seems we cannot get all of us fit at one time !! I have been down to the horses to get some fresh air, but not doing too much serious playing as they are both wondering what the command "sneeze" means !
I have made some progress with Billy in recent days however, although I am still a bit puzzled by his horsenality. Depending on circumstance he seems to be all over the chart. As long as I am very careful to stay soft with my body language he remains LBI, but get just a little too energetic and he goes RBE very quickly. I guess that makes him inately RBE.
Circling game is now very good at walk, but it requires the slightest aid to get him to send on the circle, too much and he prances around sideways, or takes off at a canter. We can even change directions on the circle now at a walk without any problems.
Figure 8 is, as a result, coming on very nicely. Very gentle and subtle aids required again. When he is LB he learns very very fast indeed, putting his little sister to shame.
One of the main things that the yard wanted corrected was his leading. Apparently he used to be very pushy. With lots of fore quarter yields this is now sorted. We even have him backing alongside us just by walking backwards.
I have to say that he is one of the more fun and rewarding horses I have played with. I am really looking forward to getting him into a menage so that more obstacles and toys can be used.
Filly has again had problems. As a result of the hoof problem we had her on box rest, snag was that during the day all the other horses in the barn were out and she got very upset. Lots of weaving, rearing and bucking in the stable. I had been grazing her, but she was very spooky in the field. Not surprising after all she has been through recently. In desperation she was finally let out with a mild sedative for a few days and could graze fairly happily. Playing with her in this state was a bit pointless as she was kind of spaced out. She did not have the pill yesterday and was apparently fine in the field.
I played with her briefly in the evening, but she still seemed "dull". Might try again tonight, cold permitting. It is possible that she is becoming a bit LBI of course and so needs more motivation to work well. I might try food treats as a reward to see if that helps, it does with our own LBI, Bonitao.
Note I say food reward. I never use food as a bribe prior to an exercise, only as an occasssional reward afterwards. Using it as a bribe would rapidly evolve into her demanding food before doing anything, and then she is training me !! Also note I say ocassional reward. Apparently research has shown that intermittent rewards are better than continuous rewards. Works on humans as well, witness how slot machines work.