Good News

Ok I promise next time I'll have some photos. None this time though, sorry. Tricia has strep throat so she decided it might be a good idea to cancel our dressage lesson tonight (Axel cheers). So my plan was to work with Cody on the ground and then see if Steph was up for a ride. Steph and I went down the back hill to find all the kids. They came halfway up the hill and I thought I was going to have to go get Cody but all the horses decided to head the rest of the way up full speed. I groomed him up. Darn horses are getting their winter fuzz already. Stephanie went to work with Kiko and Kalani getting them used to a bit so I started working with Cody.

I was trying my best to get Cody moving around on command. He's really good at backing up, and I was able to move his hindquarters and his front end as well. I was working on trying to get him to go near the trailer. Some of the other horses were hanging around and Cody was able to stand near the trailer opening very calmly. I was giving him cookies when he'd get near enough to touch the trailer floor. Between tries I was trying to get him to lunge (circle around me) but he'd keep turning to face me.

Steph had finished with Kalani and had come down to get Kiko. She worked with Kiko in the pasture getting her used to wearing a bit. And in the meantime watched me struggle with Cody. When she was done with Kiko I asked for some advice about lunging Cody. She gave me some tips which helped me get a few things sorted out. Then she asked if she could try it with him.

She ended up getting him to lunge pretty well. All it took was a few clear cues and a little more escalation than I was giving him. He's a little less than willing to turn his left eye to her and lunge in that direction, but really good at going around the other way. She worked him in a circle and started leading him around. He likes to follow instead of being right next to the leader. And when he gets confused he backs up. She worked on correcting that behavior and it really didn't take much. He seems to learn pretty quickly. She thought maybe he had been lunged before but just needed a reminder.

After this circling and leading work he walked up pretty darn close to the trailer without any issues. From there she worked on coaxing him into putting a foot on the trailer. He did pretty good putting one foot up on the trailer but it was kind of slippery and he was very unsure. He'd attempt to put weight on it but then back off. When he made a good effort and put a foot on the trailer and remained there calmly, we'd give him a cookie and then back him away from the trailer and let him rest.

Finally after several good tries, he put both feet up on the trailer and stood there. He did this twice calmly and was rewarded for it. And the next try, up in the trailer he went. He was still very nervous once he was inside. Steph gave him a cookie and rewarded him. He wanted to turn around and walk out of the trailer head first. Steph made him face forward and back out of the trailer. When he got to the end of the trailer he stepped down with his back feet but then got nervous and nearly ran backwards the rest of the way. The second attempt he went right up, stood fairly calmly in the trailer, and then backed out slowly and calmly. So after about 2 hours of just working with him and going slow, he did excellent. (Let's see how he does Saturday when it counts!)

Between tries Kalani was poking his nose in and out of the trailer very interested. I stood in the trailer with a cookie and he put both front feet in the trailer, no nervousness at all. Just curiosity and interest. He wasn't haltered or anything so he just stopped at two feet, and he's know for being a little scared about everything so we didn't ask for anything else. Especially since he was giving us so much without being asked.

When we were done playing we fed everyone their dinner which I'm sure was the ultimate reward. Cody actually tried to sneak away from me when I went to get him for dinner, but when I got smart and told him to "whoa," he actually listened.

Trail ride on Saturday!