First Team Outing!

[Nanno]

Today I took the boys for a relaxing drive around the local reservoir. Phil didn't come with us because he was busy showing a friend how to do magic tricks. The boys were a bit uneasy about his absence at first and Finn was very vocal about it, but they soon settled and we had a very nice time. We walked, we trotted, we went off-road (on purpose), and we even cantered for a short spell. They're going pretty well off voice commands now, and I spent a lot of time driving them with the whip in its socket. I don't hold with driving without a whip because slapping with the reins is not subtle and I think it can send confusing signals to their mouths. However, I'm hoping we can take the boys to the goat chariot race at the International Goat Days Festival in Tennessee either next year or the year after and chariot drivers are not allowed to use whips in this race. This is perfectly understandable given the fact that most of the goats are not well-trained and it's easy for drivers to get carried away in a speed competition. But it means that Finn and Sputnik must learn to go properly on just voice and rein signals, and there's no better time to start than the present. They did just fine. They jumped a bit when I had to encourage them with a rein slap--it's heavier and more abrupt than the light tap or the little tickle I usually give with the whip's lash, but they soon got used to it. It was a fun day!