Trailer Thingz

 Happy Spring! 

Yes, those are ducklings in my kitchen sink.

The increased daylight and warmer temperatures have been invigorating, both for myself and the horses. Even though this means there have been some cases of "spring fever", I am SO here for it.

Peek Nova frolicking behind Missy, who is sporting full UV-protection. 

In preparation for the adventures I'm hoping to go on this year, I've been incorporating the trailer in both Pyro and Nova's training. In my last post, I mentioned I had a field trip planned for Pyro. I was going to meet up with a couple friends at the Hoosier Horse Park for a low pressure outing to practice in the dressage arenas. However, when the day arrived, I was slammed with an inflammation flare up and had to pivot. 

Pyro impatiently waiting at the trailer, in full flamingo mode

I was tired, my joints ached, and my brain was foggy. After I got the trailer hooked up and packed, I accepted that it wasn't getting any better that day. So, I settled for patience practice at home for Pyro. This consisted mostly of me sitting in my camp chair, reading and hydrating and eating snacks in the sunshine, while Pyro figured out how to stand quietly with his hay and water at the trailer. I did several repetitions of loading, allowing him to settle, and unloading. The weather was perfect for this sort of work, with no threat of him getting overheated as he stood on my steel trailer. 

Low energy horse training

After working with him on holding himself on the trailer (without me putting up the butt chain or closing the door) and calmly backing off when I ask, he got to munch hay one more time tied to the trailer before calling it good. Based on how hard that all was for him, I think it was EXACTLY what we needed that day, and I'm honestly glad I didn't take him off property. Since then, I have been taking him out to the trailer for grooming and tacking in an effort to make it normal and low stress for him.

Sniff-spection in between munching hay and slurping a little beet pulp

Of course, he has been 100% fine with tying at the trailer since that day, but it's clear to me there is a hole in his foundation when it comes to trailering. He didn't used to have this anxiety, but I suspect that ulcers + trailering = pain last season, so he has some negative associations. I'm optimistic that it won't take long to fill it. 

Calmly tied to the trailer with one ear on the dumpster that was being filled with scrap.

The next chance I had, I loaded up Pyro for a little field trip to cultivate some positive trailer associations. I took him to the nearest gas station (5 minutes away) for a donut. 

With sprinkles.

He was a fan.

"Om nom..."

"... nom... more?"

Via my new trailer cam, I could see that he rode quietly.

Waiting patiently to unload.

When we got back, I made sure to work with him again on holding himself on the trailer until asked to unload, and he handled the whole trip really well. I could see the gears turning as I hosed him off and turned him back out with his friends, like "wait, that's it?". Even though we didn't unload off the property, this little mini adventure was a ton of fun. There was zero pressure or stress, and feeding your horse a gas station donut is basically buying dopamine for $2.19. Highly recommend.

Nova also got to practice with my trailer for the first time. 

It may be a rusty eye-sore, but this trailer (which is as old as I am...) is solid in all the ways that matter. It used to be navy on the inside too, but I painted that white a few years ago to make it more inviting. It's still relatively narrow, and a step-up, so it presents a challenge, but I find if I can load a horse on this trailer, they happily walk on any other configuration. 

Not above using bribes positive reinforcement when it comes to trailering

As I expected based on what I know of her personality and approach to the world so far, she showed a brief obstinate streak during our first loading session. However, patience and consistency won her over relatively quickly, and she loaded/unloaded successfully several times. My understanding is that the prior times she had been on a trailer, she was essentially lifted in, rather than asked to walk on, so I consider this a big win.

Baby's first time on my trailer

Loaded with butt chain in place and door closed!

Hanging out while she eats her dinner

The same day as Pyro's donut outing, I asked Missy and Nova to load together for the first time. 

Both girls on the trailer!

It took all of 5 minutes to halter, lead out, and load both of them. Neither balked, and were content to stand together on the trailer, so I decided to take them for a 10 minute drive around the block. 

It was great having eyes on them.

The trip was completely uneventful, and Nova balanced herself very well. Unloading took a little thought, as my escape door is easy to pop through from inside the trailer (such as when I loaded Nova), but less easy for me to climb through from the outside. Both girls patiently waited while their bipedal servant figured it out (I ended up chucking Nova's long lead rope out the back door, then asking her to back from there), then graciously unloaded when I was ready. 

The Queen showing The Princess how it's done. 

To finish off the experience, I tied them both to the trailer to munch hay and really solidify trailering as a positive thing. I couldn't be more pleased, and I'm feeling ready to take both girls to the Spring National Drive. 

While these may not be the big, exciting adventures of going to a show, trail riding, etc., I feel this trailer work has been extremely productive and will greatly enhance my (and my horses') enjoyment of future outings. 

Just another day at the trailer