Pacing

Axel is still in with Cody. The barn owners didn't seem to be around so I'm still assuming that's the reason. However, Cody has dug himself a nice 8-10" rut from pacing the fence (thus proving that having Axel in with him does not calm him down). They moved the feeder in the middle of his rut, either to block his path (which doesn't work, he just goes around) or to put the feeder near the feeder on the other side of the fence so the horses are sort of eating together.

I did some circling with Cody right in the paddock before I brought him out to groom. As is becoming more normal now, he was a complete fool while tied to the hitching rail (the hunter girls have their lesson on Mondays so the arena/parking lot/barn aisle are all occupied). I didn't groom long before I brought Cody back in the paddock with the intention to keep working him. Axel stays out of the way and just watches so it works out okay for everyone.

Cody and I worked on circling with him keeping an ear on me. He wasn't too great at this today since he was really concerned that those gray horses were way out in the pasture and he couldn't see them. We also worked on standing and looking at me. I tried to anticipate the moment that he couldn't stand there any more and move him before he chose to move. Every time he stood and looked at me for a few seconds without his attention drifting we'd walk back towards the other paddock where he wanted to go anyway. After all this work he did calm down a notch but all things are relative of course. It must have been almost dinner time because the gray horses decided to come back up to the fence and see what was going on. That made Cody very happy so we worked a few more minutes and then I let him go.

I groomed Axel at the hitching rail and he was solid as ever, just standing still and enjoying the scratches. I thought he would shed out more black than it seems he is. But he probably has a lot more shedding to do. He seems to be getting some white hairs on his forehead now as well. I don't think it'll be a full fledged star, I think it's just old age, I mean he is 16 after all!