Dodging the showers on Friday was made a little easier by being able to pop in and out of the horse box with an exquisite Highland pony. Shay has been reluctant to load for about eighteen months. With hindsight his owners wished they has sought help earlier because during that time he has being practising his 'no' and improving on it all the time.
His particular skill is to absolutely plant himself, ably assisted by the duvet type travelling boots which catch on one another and get under his opposite foot.
There is no apparent reason for his reluctance save for a pony's natural apprehension about being trapped in a small space. He travels well and arrives calm and the lorry is well laid out and padded. The horse space is forward of the back axle and he gets a smooth ride. The owners drive like good SAGA members.
There was no point whatsoever in engaging with this pony's no. Pressure and release on whatever type of head collar led to him planting even more and absorbing any discomfort. Rather than increasing the pressure, his physical discomfort, and my mental discomfort, we erected the panels before gently closing them down until he had to engage with the ramp. Once on the panels are opened up although he was very happy to stand with me looking out of the door. By the third loading we didn't need to close them at all.
I've left the panels with the owners so that they can practise a few times before taking the panels away one by one. Once he is flowing on and off, he should be fine. We just needed to interrupt his pattern.
"I thought you might like a
progress report. We tried L-poles yesterday, with some success, but I can really
see how getting more smooth at that will help. Today we set up the panels,
loaded up on treats and lined up the helpers. And ... he walked straight on!!! I
was gobsmacked, but we practised 'flowing' on and off a number of times to
prove it wasn't a fluke. Wow! It took longer to set up the panels than to have
our session." BW
