Wow, what a lot of fun and work we had tonight! Karen started the first outside-the-barn leading lesson with Shoshone this evening. She was doing the well known rump-rope method, which resulted in a kicking, running, hissy fit (the horse was pissed too).
Once Shoshone's fit was over, I took over and worked with her, direct halter. I know that's not what you are supposed to do, but the lesson had to go on. If she disliked the rump rope that much, we would just have do it another way, because the lesson was going to happen one way or another. With the direct halter, once she realized she cannot shake me, we began to work together remarkably well. Okay, well, that's quite laughable. I'm just psyching her out. She could toss my scrawny butt across the pasture if she only knew it.
It turns out she actually stands still very well for me, which was surprising to us. Through (a LOT of ) patience and perseverance, I motivated her to actually walk all the way around the barn with me, without having to give an inch at all, which we felt was excellent for her first real lesson. I know the direct halter is not the way you are supposed to do it, but my thinking is that the lessons need to be flexible. Find what works and use it.
I had really hoped that Karen would be the one giving the lessons. She is an infinitely more experienced horseman than I. But she told me she just isn't strong enough and she thinks I'm more insightful. I suppose that as with all things, it will work best if we do it together.