Now Zeus is a horse of a whole different color than Koda, in more ways than one! Instead of being spooky and crow-hoppy, Zeus is more likely to totally ignore your cues or run you over as he pushes past you. He is friendly, but seems to have very little respect for your personal space--he thinks he's the boss.
I worked with Zeus several years ago when he was a 2-year old and remember spending a lot of time working on respect and control. He's back-slid the last few years, so he's here for a quick tune-up before hitting the trails this summer.
He's showing a lot of improvement since day 1 when he repeatedly tried to shove me out of the way as I attempted to switch out his halter. He's kind of funny--he's gotten so he will lower his head and lick and chew like crazy (signs of respect and submission) when I release pressure after a cue, but at the same time he swishes his tail angrily like he's giving me the finger. It's a little weird, but I think it will go away with time.
We also worked on trailer loading as he's begun to refuse to get in-another symptom of his lack of respect. I took all of the horses to the annual vaccination clinic at the vet on Saturday, so I needed to be sure he would get into the trailer. He does better if another horse is already on board, but he is improving even when he is by himself. I'll probably keep working on that a little each day to try to get him more solid.