A Tale of Poe – Part 4
Spoiler Alert!
–
In our next session, Poe got into the trailer all by himself!
When we headed out toward it, Gilly and Incredible were a minute or two behind us, but I wanted to keep the momentum going for Poe. So I just walked straight from the gate to the arena to the trailer and he got on! Incredible was very patient and stood a few yards away for moral support. Poe had to stop and think a bit on the ramp so I gave him time to consider things. He walked onto the trailer after a second or two, stood like a champ, and then backed off slowly. After a few ons and offs, Gilly moved the jackpot bucket to the trailer so he could munch up there and get used to standing for a few minutes at a time.
Soon enough, we were loading and unloading Poe like he was an old pro a few times a week. We worked up to closing the divider on him and letting him munch on the hay bag for a few minutes, then backing out slowly.
In four sessions, each about 15-20 minutes in time, Poe was ready to get into a trailer by himself. This adds up to about an hour of work.
We wheeled Poe around the barn in the trailer twice in total, a few days apart. He was trembling but patiently waited to be unloaded the first time; the second time, it was no big deal. We finally took him out on the road.
Since then, we’ve kept practicing loading, both at liberty and in a halter. He is now at a point where he can self-load – as long as there is a jackpot bucket within his eyeline.
I’d like to take a moment to consider the total time all of this took. In four sessions, each about 15-20 minutes in time, Poe was ready to get into a trailer by himself. This adds up to about an hour of work. When we went tried to load him back in December, we probably spent four hours trying to get him on. When Poe understood the assignment, he became an easier horse. When I understood how to break it down for him, he tried harder for me.
All of this trailering work is helping me realize how helpful R+ can be for a horse that needs more context to be a willing partner. It is super cool and rewarding to see him think through a problem that was so confusing for him when he wouldn’t even step onto the trailer.
Series: "A Tale of Poe"
In which Clara and her young gelding take a journey—or maybe not?