Lunged Newt in front of the barn. He does good with the ground poles. I rode him to the arena but he had some concerns at the gate. I did not see anything, maybe he just convinced himself there was a spook. He did a spin and perhaps another one but I was able to stop him with a one rein stop. My usual procedure in situations like this is to face the horse toward the area of fear and wait for them to accept it. I got Newt facing the perceived problem but I got the feeling that he was going to escalate rather than calm down. I hopped off and walked him through the gate. This situation was not what I want but it is so much better than last time he spun with me. He did not throw me, we got past the problem and went on and did our work. So it was a success, much better than a failure. We rode the needlework and oval exercises. Lots of head shaking and pulling. He was in a cantankerous mood, very different from Thursday. I do not know the reason. It was windy earlier this morning. I rode the Stubben saddle which I think fits him best but I’m going to make notes about how he acts with which saddle. He did one round on the circle that seemed cooperative. I stopped on that good note thinking I might not get another. I walked him back to the barn.
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