Trailer Loading… Again.

In anticipation of the upcoming show season, I decided I better start practicing trailer loading with Baron. He has not been in the midget trailer since November. (The midget trailer is the little two horse bumper-pull, in contrast to my friend’s three horse slant load.) He hates the midget trailer, although last year I had him loading pretty easily since we were trailering to lessons every week.

Here is my method for trailer loading that I don’t necessarily recommend for anyone else’s horse. It just happens to work for mine. I get a lunge line and tie it to a halter. If I clip it on, the clip snaps as soon as Baron pulls back on it. That little piece of metal is no match for 1200 lbs of paranoia. The lunge line is tied so tight that it’s never going to come off, so this halter can only be used for trailer loading.  Next, I loop the lunge line through a metal thing in the trailer that’s designed to tie onto. I loop it through so that when he pulls back I have some extra leverage. I start off giving him a lot of space and as he approaches the trailer, I slowly pull out the slack on the lunge line. I’ve learned that if I rush him, he goes completely spastic and rears. If I let him approach slowly and give him a lot of give and take, approach and retreat, then he stays calm. Basically, I slowly get him closer and closer to the trailer and when he realizes he’s not able to back up or get away by pulling backward, he gives in and hops on.

Today I did the usual routine. I managed to get him on with no rearing by not applying too much pressure. I let him go at his own pace and slowly coaxed him on. It took an hour, but I have to start somewhere. Maybe tomorrow it will take 45 minutes, and then half an hour, and eventually he’ll load easily. I’ve learned the perfect amount of pressure to apply, meaning that I know when to urge him forward and when to back off a little. I can read him well enough now to know when he’s reaching his threshold and when he’s about to go bat shit crazy. The rearing is really dangerous and he could easily injure me or himself, so it’s wise to take it slow.

After he got on the trailer, I fed him lots of apple treats and let him back out when he was ready. As a reward, we went immediately back to the barn and he got his dinner. I was very proud of him (and myself) today!

Springtime at the Barn

The pasture at sunset.

Still a little fuzzy, winter coat is slowly shedding out.

Dogwoods blooming at the barn.

Pretty green pasture.

I spilled coffee all over my camera, so no pictures. :(

Yep, my camera is no longer functional. Of course now that spring is here and the barn is surrounded by blooming dogwoods and honeysuckles and my horse is looking beee-you-tee-ful, I spill coffee all over my camera! Tonight I’m hoping to take my husband’s fancy pants camera to the barn and snap a few pics. Baron has almost completely shed out his winter coat and he is looking sleek and fat. Well, fat for a Thoroughbred, which means his back end is rounder than last year and his ribs have filled out. I gave  him his first bath of the season and he immediately went out and rolled. Oh well, he looked like a show horse for 5 minutes.

Speaking of shows, I am really looking forward to doing a couple shows this summer. The show series I did last year (New Classic Horse Shows) added an adult beginner class. Hallelujah!!! This means Baron and I won’t be competing against 8 year olds on ponies! I think I have a better chance of actually getting a ribbon if I’m competing against other adults. I mean really, who’s going to give me a ribbon when they can give it to the adorable little girl with matching hair bow and saddle pad on her equally adorable pony? So I’m aiming to do three shows total, one each in August, September and October. I can’t wait!

Hopefully my next post will include pictures!

The Many Uses of Listerine

I got the amber colored listerine, put it in a spray bottle, and soaked the rain rot patch on Baron’s leg. It’s been a couple days and I can tell a big difference. The skin looks much better, less inflamed. I can tell it stings when I put it on because he stomps his foot after I finish spraying. 

I also read that Listerine is great for cleaning out water buckets because it cuts through the grime and kills any bacteria. I put a little splash in Baron’s bucket and found that I didn’t have to scrub as hard as I usually do to get the gunk off. So Listerine will now be a regular part of my tack box. I’m all about cheap fixes for common problems!