A Tale of Poe – Part 3
In which Poe learns from an experienced friend why loading into the trailer is a good thing, and Clara practices the virtue of patience!
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One of the Core Principles of Priority to Positive is Set Up for Success. If Poe had the skills to load, but still wasn’t confident inside the trailer itself, what could we do to help him gain that confidence?
What helps one horse gain confidence? Having another horse show the way! Remember, “It’s not cheating to make it easy!”
In our next session, we brought in one of Via Nova’s R+ veteran horses, Incredible (Indy), to show Poe how to get on the trailer. I wanted to make that “yes” that I was looking for more obvious to him. I needed a chance to show him that getting fully into the trailer would get him a big reward, so we had Poe and Indy take turns targeting a stationary cone in the trailer. At first, Poe wasn’t convinced, but as soon as he realized that Indy was getting heavily reinforced for targeting on the trailer, well, Poe wanted to take a few steps further on. The moment Poe got all 4 feet off the ramp and onto the actual trailer, we marked, reinforced, and ended the session.
Remember, it’s not cheating to make it easy for your horse!
It was SO tempting to try to get Poe further onto the trailer, but for both our sakes, I wanted to exercise restraint. If Poe understands that trailering is a rewarding experience, he might come back more willing next time; if I push him past his limits, the trailer might get confusing or spooky again.
I happened to go out of town for a week after this session, so Poe had plenty of time to think about our trailering experience. He got turned out and handled every day, but no training sessions, so when I returned he was extra ready for an opportunity to Behave!
Our next session went swimmingly; Poe got entirely onto the trailer after Indy with only a bit of hesitation. I chalked that hesitation up to his eyes adjusting from the bright sun to the inside of the dark trailer. He had a moment or two of “ohshootohshootohshoot” but exercised GREAT impulse control – totally stayed in the classroom. When he got nervous, I used a hand target and a suuuper high rate of reinforcement.
I also had to check my own nervousness; I get pretty emotional about trailer loading since he has been so troublesome in the past. Gilly turned Indy around and led him out the side ramp so I could bring Poe fully on the trailer, and then we walked off the side ramp! I was super impressed. He didn’t bolt off unloading, he kept his composure and even when he was fully off he stayed with me and didn’t high-tail it for the weeds.
Series: "A Tale of Poe"
In which Clara and her young gelding take a journey—or maybe not?