A push in the right direction

These days it seems like if it doesn't snow, I'm busy still I manage to squeeze in a session here and there.  On Monday I think it was I played with Gingy for awhile.  Lately, when I've come out to feed Gingy he's been so well behaved and happy looking that I felt extra motivated to come do something with him this week. 

Besides being happy Gingy has been quite itchy too, so we spent about half of our time together with me scratching his withers while he went into every contortion there is for displaying pleasure hehe.  He even groomed me a little :)

We did some online too, which got a little messy and frustrating.  It feels counter to everything that I've learned about horses through parelli, but I get the feeling sometimes that Gingy needs to be pushed in order to succeed.  I guess what I mean by that is that letting him get away with putting in 40% effort doesn't cause him to want to put 100% effort in next time.  I don't know why I always forget that, Trevor has reminded me enough times it seems like.  Carolyn Resnick always reminds me that each horse is an individual and to even put horses in categories as general as dominant vs fearful can inhibit your ability to find connection with a particular horse.  So if a push is what Gingy seems to need in order for us to find a connection, then I need to give him a push.  I did.  I didn't take any of his excuses, I made sure that Gingy kept going until he really thought about what I was asking of him and put effort into it.  Once he was able to do that, then we moved on to some of the subtle body language we're experimenting with and it went well.  I know it went well mainly due to the fact that we found a connection.  As they say, "there's nothing you can't do when the horse becomes a part of you."