Well, it isn't totally new. Ellen started teaching it to him last year. I just forgot all about it. Well, when she reviewed it, this year, he remembered it, (his memory is better than mine,) and took it to a whole new level.
Dante learned to chase the ball. Actually, he doesn't really chase it. Ellen throws it, he watches it fly through the air and land--and then he goes running and bucking to it, stops, touches it and looks at Ellen--to ask for his treat.
Cole learned this game, too, but it isn't such a big deal for him.
This is why it is so important for Dante. When the weather is inclement, we don't have a good place to turn the horses out to play. We do have the option of letting them loose in the indoor arena. Cole will run on his own, and he loves when we chase him around, too. He will get all of his excess bucks out--and he has a lot of them.
Dante will run all about if he is outside, and he enjoys us chasing him, too. Inside is a different matter. He might roll, run a bit and maybe toss in a buck, but that is it. If you try to chase him around, he just looks at you--he just doesn't want to play inside. Consequently, it is hard to get his bucks out if he can't go outside.
To make it worse, he is not the kind of horse who works hard in the arena. Cole can work enough to break a sweat in the winter. With Dante, only the rider breaks a sweat. He is naturally a slow horse.
Now, we have an option. We can just play ball.
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