the watcher
Well-Known Member
So - the chunky mare has always had a bit of an attitude and over the last couple of years has got progressively harder to load. Apart from daily turning out, etc, I usually leave the handling to Moomin6 who rides her regularly - she is younger and a bit more agile than me
Two weeks ago it took 1 1/2 hours to get her on the trailer, on Sunday we had to give up entirely, scratched the two dressage tests she was supposed to be doing and was surrounded by mutterings of 'dog food' and the like....
..so in desperation I phoned a friend who is a horse transporter, who seems to be able to get anything on a lorry, who came straight over....armed with a slip halter, chiffney and plenty of determination
she was walking through the trailer within 10 minutes, loaded up after a couple of walk thoughs and off to the tranport yard for more education. Once there we took out the partition and I took over walking her through, to the point where I could throw the rope over her neck on the ramp and she would still follow me on (such an amazing feeling, I could have cried)..
a short break and the partition went back in and we practiced again, walking through, then halting on the trailer, then halting on the ground, the ramp, halfway in..whatever I asked she kept following..another short break and then we did it all again.
She is getting a bit more reminding this morning before I go and collect her this evening with Moomin6, where we will do practice walkthroughs beofre and after her journey.
Two conclusions reached as a result of all this
1) Kevin Scott is a superstar (I know he was good but wasn't aware of how much work he had done with people like Richard Maxwell to become that good) and the folks at ECS are just great
2) The problems were not with the mare..but with US..by not using clear and consistant signals and words and increasingly pandering to a horse that was all too ready to take advantage of any weakness WE were compounding the problem
Today I am mostly beating myself up (mentally) and promising myself that I will do better so we don't arrive at this situation again
Two weeks ago it took 1 1/2 hours to get her on the trailer, on Sunday we had to give up entirely, scratched the two dressage tests she was supposed to be doing and was surrounded by mutterings of 'dog food' and the like....
..so in desperation I phoned a friend who is a horse transporter, who seems to be able to get anything on a lorry, who came straight over....armed with a slip halter, chiffney and plenty of determination
she was walking through the trailer within 10 minutes, loaded up after a couple of walk thoughs and off to the tranport yard for more education. Once there we took out the partition and I took over walking her through, to the point where I could throw the rope over her neck on the ramp and she would still follow me on (such an amazing feeling, I could have cried)..
a short break and the partition went back in and we practiced again, walking through, then halting on the trailer, then halting on the ground, the ramp, halfway in..whatever I asked she kept following..another short break and then we did it all again.
She is getting a bit more reminding this morning before I go and collect her this evening with Moomin6, where we will do practice walkthroughs beofre and after her journey.
Two conclusions reached as a result of all this
1) Kevin Scott is a superstar (I know he was good but wasn't aware of how much work he had done with people like Richard Maxwell to become that good) and the folks at ECS are just great
2) The problems were not with the mare..but with US..by not using clear and consistant signals and words and increasingly pandering to a horse that was all too ready to take advantage of any weakness WE were compounding the problem
Today I am mostly beating myself up (mentally) and promising myself that I will do better so we don't arrive at this situation again
