What awesome news! Homework can be so boring, but it sure is worth it when it all comes together.
Happy Hunting!
Totally worth it already! 
[QUOTE=jawa;8245718]
What awesome news! Homework can be so boring, but it sure is worth it when it all comes together.
Happy Hunting![/QUOTE]
Ditto this and Congratulations. Far too many people neglect to do the homework and then get frustrated with their horses for not knowing their job. Hope you have a fabulous season ( I can’t wait for the season to get started!)
My first hunt horse was like that. She had a hot-ish temperament (for a foxhunter), but was quite enjoyable for everything but the checks. Then on about her 6th hunt, we had an unusually long run. She was pretty much exhausted, and stood with her head down panting (at least for a couple seconds) when we stopped. I happened to have some left-over carrot pieces in my pockiet for a totally different reason. I saw my moment to reward good behavior, and gave her some during that moment of calmness in the check. It was like a lightbulb went off in her head and she realized that checks were not some frustriating, tense, big deal. All she needed to do was stand there. Sure, we had moments after that when we couldn’t really stand still, but there was a definite and lasting change.
I know that I really am just “telling my story” (which is what you asked for). You can’t necessarily set up this situation. And even if you did, it wouldn’t necessarily be at just the right time for your horse to have a “lightbulb moment”. But sometimes good training is just taking advantage of a lucky moment.
Thanks for sharing you story!
I’m not sure he had a light bulb moment, but my guy definitely figured it out. He’s been standing nicely at checks and I think we’ll be okay when cubbing starts in a couple weeks 
