Trailer Loading (again)

Today, after I fed the Horses, I desensitized Valley to the lead rope. Then I took her over to the trailer, and walked inside. We stayed there for a bit, just getting her used to the trailer some more.

I took her away from the trailer, and sent her off to the left. She did so much better today! Even with Ranger running up behind her (he didn't get much of a chance to bark at her, cause I took the handy stick with the string on the end, and whacked the ground next to him, and he ran off. LOL).

She went around 2-3 times pretty well, then I let her stop and come to me. Then I sent her off in the same direction, and when she went for about one circle, I stepped in front of her head, slid my hand down the lead rope, and pulled it in the other direction. She did well on that side too, so after a few circles, I stopped her, and took her back to the trailer to rest.

She didn't make any attempt to get in, so I got a small handful of her food, and took it into the trailer like yesterday. She stretched as far as she could, but wouldn't make any attempt to get IN the trailer. But after a while she finally lifted a hoof, and set it on the trailer for about 1 second at the most (Lol). So I immediately gave her the food.

I was done working with her, so I took her halter and lead rope off, and she took of down to where Chloe was near the fence grazing. I put the handy stick and string, the halter, and the lead rope away, then went down to put the horses up. I put Chloe in first (guiding her by her mane), then, as soon as I put the lead rope around Valley's neck, she IMMEDIATELY bit me on my arm! I yelled (not too loud!!), "Valley NO!" She didn't have a halter on, but just a lead rope around her neck, and I wiggled it making her back up. By wiggling it, the clip hit my hand, and boy did that hurt twice as much as her bite did!!


-Sarah

Trailer Loading

After we took Bully to the butcher, we brought the trailer back here (it's not our trailer, but Zoe's dad's trailer) so that I can get Valley used to trailers. So today, for the first time I started working with her on it. My dad helped me at first to refresh my mind, cause I couldn't remember how (I'm a door knob). He got her by the trailer to get used to it (she wasn't scared or anything, just so she'd know it won't hurt her), then he lunged her away from the trailer.

I took over in the middle of dad lungeing. I lunged her for a little bit longer, then brought her over to the trailer to rest. I walked to the back of the trailer, turned, and looked at her and gently pulling on the leadrope. After a few minutes, she lifted one leg and put it on the trailer for about 2-3 seconds, then put it back down. I was so happy! I ran over to her and petted her face. After a few more mintues, I took her away from the trailer and lunged her some more.

Valley does NOT like being lunged. When I try to turn her, this time she like ran even faster instead of turning, and she pulls back some, but she's not as bad as she used to be! She behaves MOSTLY now. After I lunged her, I took her back to the trailer to rest. She wouldn't come up as close as she had before.

So I got a handful of food, and went into the trailer, and held my arm out where it was JUST out of Valley's reach. It was so funny! She had her knees pressed up against the trailer basically on her toes stretching her neck out as far as it could go, and she played with my hand with her lip trying to get the food. Twice she lifted up one of her front feet, but put it back down. The second time she lifted her foot, I gave her the food and unclipped her leadrope so she could go eat grass. But then I remembered that I left the pasture gate open so she could go back in the pasture when she was done grazing. And I hadn't taken her halter off yet, and she went straight into the pasture and ran up to the barn. So I had to walk through the pasture to her.

Befor I got to her, she came running up to me. I un-tied her halter and she immeadietly ran off. LOL. She wanted that halter off, and she knew that I was going to take it off for her!!

Oh, I forgot to say, that before I did the lungeing and trailer stuff, I desensitized her to the handy stick and string. She did pretty well.
Just a little not there.

TTYL!


-Sarah