Change of Heart

Surprise, surprise I've had a change of heart.  I've decided to pull Joey from the market and keep him.  He has made so much progress these last few months that I want to keep working with him.  The other day, in a rush, I didn't check to see if all the cows had cleared the watering area before I moved gates and let the horses in.  

With one cow mixed in with the horses and sheep I needed some help.  Grabbing Reba by the collar I called Joey over.  Gesturing in the direction of the cow I shooshed him up.  Looking at me a little confused (he's always on sheep at my place) he quietly walked up to the cow and bit her hock.  Using my shrillest happy voice I told him how wonderful he was and he came trotting back to me for some pets.  Doing it again I once more asked him to move the cow.  Same thing, a nice quiet approach and a bite to get her moving.  

The next day I put him on the sheep.  And he's actually slowing down.  He's starting to rate and isn't in a crazed or hyper state when we work for increasingly long periods of time.  We even did some directional work.  I was so pleased with him.  The bonus was that all of this was done freely - no cord in sight!

My plan is to move him onto cattle permanently and hopefully try our hand at some cattle trials.