Horse Trailer Training Update

For anyone who happens across this page looking for info about horse trailer training, take heart! When I started this process, I had no experience. My 10-y.o. gelding was scared, and looking back I now know that I WAS SCARED TOO. But if I can do it, you can do it.

The problem was my horse Odie was both fearful and smart. Fearful enough to refuse when he thought there was danger, and smart enough to refuse when he just didn't want to do it. This is where my inexperience was an obstacle--temporarily.

At first Odie honestly was so afraid he shook like a leaf--and that was with only his front feet in the trailer. Did he have a trailer accident with a past owner? If only he could tell me. Thus we began in ignorance: who knows what happened to him, and I'd never done this before.

I searched for help. Cherry Hill's book Trailering Your Horse is awesome. The Equispirit Trailers website is another great source of info. Another online article by Ron Meredith was a big help to me.
I also had a trailering lesson with my trainer to get started.

I spent several weeks working with Odie, with the goal of moving in and around the trailer as much as possible without stress. One foot? Good boy. Now two. In and out. Step left. Step right. (I have a slant load.) And time just tied to the trailer, grooming, whatever. This trailer will not eat you, Odie.

One foot into the trailer turned into two, then three, and then four. It was all about moving his feet, even just a little bit...and tons of praise. We had one setback which made me realize just how afraid I had been myself, never mind the horse. But we kept on.

So we continued to just move in and out of the trailer--mostly FOR ME and my comfort. Sometimes I just did groundwork with no trailer. This is embarrassing, but it was totally necessary and I hope other newbies out there will know that it is ok to be nervous, so take your time.

That said, at some point, you have to overcome the worry and let it become the kind of caution that you use whenever you are working with your horse. Take your time! Find the awareness that will keep you safe but NOT keep you (and your horse) from moving forward.

Sometimes moving forward happens by accident. I was lucky to receive some help from an experienced horse person at a key moment when Odie had already gone from the aforementioned "honestly afraid" stage to the "just didn't want to do it" stage, and I hadn't recognized the difference yet.

Yesterday I had the trailer out again for going to 4-H with my daughter and Chipper, the horse she is using for this purpose. Chipper trailers perfectly, by the way. While Chipper has been teaching Keara to ride, he's been teaching me how horses should trailer.

I planned to work with Odie in the trailer afterward. As it turned out, I didn't have much to do. He just got in. It was so beautiful! I walked in, he walked in after me--clop, clop, clop, clop. We got in and out about 6 times. Then he got treats. And I went home happy.

It's been several months since we started, and I have yet to drive him anywhere, but the progress we've made is solid. It's good to know that the building blocks are in place for the future. Next step: closing the door. I'll let you know what happens.

Note to self on the first 4-H ride: Keara enjoyed being able to ride with all those kids her own age, but noted that she liked dressage and jumping lessons in Pony Club. We've agreed to do both this year. She also mentioned riding Odie at a lesson someday. :)

Horsey Halloween Costume Class!

The Definition of "Dumb-Butt"

My horse doesn't give a hoot about "The Balloon Boy", and neither should you.

We had the excitement of sharing our riding arena with the entire fleet of local news helicopters last week. The family of Balloon Boy happens to live in our town. We're so proud.

Fortunately it turns out that both Chipper and Odie could care less about helicopters. (Did they know it was a hoax? Nah, horses can't be that smart.)

I still had my daughter ride Odie on the lunge line just in case. The teenage girl riding Chipper was just fine by herself. Odie actually started to fall asleep at one point.

Perhaps helicopter noise has a soporific effect on horses. (I believe I have correctly used another SAT word! The English-major nerd is happy. Go ahead, look it up.)

Anyway, for me all those helicopters were loud, annoying and a waste of resources. I say this today. At the time I was just as horrified as everyone else that some poor kid was floating around at 8,000 feet in a Jiffy-Pop.

Now I'm simply disgusted, knowing that his parents are just a couple of boneheads looking for attention. Setting a wonderful example for their children by lying, lying, lying.

We did get a teaching moment out of it, since my son had just read the book "Peter and the Wolf" in his first grade class. "They were like Peter," said my son. "They're dumb-butts," added his big sister. No argument there.

I think I will submit "dumb-butt" to Merriam-Webster for consideration. It has had so many uses around here. But with the parents of Balloon Boy, I think the word has finally found a home.

Whip It

This evening I went to practice loading Odie in the trailer, again. I spent about 20 minutes moving him around between halfway in and halfway out. Before he spooked in there a couple of weeks ago, all four feet would go in. Since then only 2-3 feet.

Chipper was obliging me by standing nearby at the corner of the pasture, where I happened to park the trailer, so Odie could see him. Maybe he was really trying to tell me to get on with it so I would feed him, but horses can't be that smart.

So there I am, in the trailer watching the sun set, thinking that I am doing great because I got three feet in, when the old cowboy guy from across the road drives in with his beat pickup and the half-crippled dog in the back.

All the times I have ever seen this guy, he seemed to be cranky and even a little bit scary. To my surprise he comes walking over and says, "You still trying to load that horse?"

"Yes," I say sheepishly. "You got a whip?" he asks. "Well," I say, a little more assertively now, "he flipped out of a trailer once so I've been taking things kind of slow."

"All you need to do is tap him on the heels," he says, pointing, "I've done it a hundred times. I'm not going to beat on him." His voice is surprisingly kind, considering where I've pegged him.

"Look at him," he goes on, "He's not scared. He's just stubborn. If it doesn't work it doesn't work." The dog regards me with a cursory sniff. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I ran down to get my dressage whip.

I get back and hand over the whip. "Now you get in and don't pull on his head--just keep him pointed the right way if you need to..." and he begins tapping Odie on the heels--not hard, but like a metronome.

Odie is obviously feeling the need to remove himself from this situation. At first he looks totally shocked. Then the wheels start turning, and he's scooting left and right. Then it's like a light bulb goes on over his head--and he just plants himself.

Ol' cowboy is not fooled. He continues tapping, maybe just a hair harder. Tap, tap, tap, tap...and my horse jumps in the trailer, and stands there! I am about to yawp my joy to the heavens when I regain my senses and remember to praise Odie calmly.

After a few minutes, I back him out. My new personal hero is taking a call on his cell phone. He hangs up and says, "want to do it again?" "Is that ok?" I ask. "Yeah, normally I'd do this 10 or 15 times. But he knows now."

I ask Odie to walk back into the trailer, and the horse hops in. No tapping. "There's your whip," says the cowboy, tossing it in the road. He walks off back home and his dog follows. From inside the trailer I call out, "Thank you!"

GOALS

Having written that warm fuzzy post about confidence and moving forward with my riding (and life) it's time to get real with the details. In other words, setting goals. Here are my goals for next year:

I have a balanced and independent seat that gives my horse confidence.

My horse feels safe and comfortable in his trailer.

I am calm and relaxed in competition. I win my personal best Training Level Championship in 2010 (three scores over 60%, but without any USDF/USEF memberships).

There you have it. Now I am supposed to copy these statements onto index cards and stick them all over the place. And a game plan for each of these goals has to be outlined as well.

For my balanced and independent seat, I'll be doing the following:
--eat healthy so I don't have sugar highs/lows, and stay slim
--do pilates 3x week to build core muscles
--watch videos of good dressage riders
--have a lesson on the lunge line, but not sure how often

For the trailer comfort goal, I'll do this:
--use bad weather days for practice loading/unloading and standing
--wrap my horse's legs with polos EVERY TIME just in case
--recruit someone to close the door and let Odie stay in there to get acclimated
--start driving short distances with some frequency, so it gets to be old hat

For the cool competitor goal, here's the plan:
--finish reading Jane Savoie book to get some sports psychology tools
--go to shows! and get used to going
--ride my horse regularly: practice!
--imagine myself looking like this:

Ha ha! Seriously, this still feels really warm and fuzzy. Well, I'm not going to complain; but I'll remember my work ethic. It's actually easy to do this now that I have my children. Whenever I get discouraged, I basically ask myself, "What would I tell my daughter?"

The right answer--the kind, supportive, firm answer--pops into my head every time. So however difficult it may sometimes be to juggle family, horse, work--it feels just right for me today.

My Winning Attitude

I've been thinking alot about my last post...about the idea of getting better, of being a better rider.

For a while now I have been kind of conflicted about my riding...or is it my life? Self-confidence has been the main problem. I'm always writing about these introspective issues because it helps me.

My blog is not a service-oriented affair. It's a diary. If I can ask the questions & thoughts that knock around in my head here, then I am better prepared to do something about them.

Thought of the Day: Self-confidence. Do I have any? Of course. Does it wax and wane? Like everyone else, I am sure. But it's kind of low, I admit it. So, knowing that I could be better, do I make adjustments? Do I move forward?

I look at my riding, at my "horseylife", and I think the answer is: yes, but very slowly. Kind of like Odie learning to get into the trailer...one foot. At a time.

Looking back, horses have been my great escape. The one area in my life that my dysfunctional family didn't get involved in, horses gave me peace. As a young person, it was mainly a tremendous relief for me to go to the barn.

But now I am "a grown-up" and horses can no longer be an escape. It's something I love, but I am trying to fit it into my life in a more "normal" way since fortunately I'm enjoying a fairly happy existence now.

In other words, when I go to the barn, I used to stay there. For hours. With the house, kids, husband...that's not gonna work now. And I used to ride around without any real focus, to forget things...that won't get me any closer to my dressage goals.

It's somewhat humbling to be admitting these things since I'm nearly 40 years old. But I'm not going to give myself a hard time about my rate of enlightenment. It serves no purpose, and I'm reading Jane Savoie today; Jane would not like it.

Jane says: Enrich your Riding (and Life) with a Winning Attitude. If I've been going slowly up to this point, maybe self-help will get me out of first gear. How about you? There's no extra cash for much else anyway these days!

So I'm focusing on these mental self-improvement things in my riding now. Reading the book It's Not Just About the Ribbons. Next time: Setting Goals (lovely, positively worded ones)!

Letter B Game Show

Odie had last week off from riding due to rain. Today was sunny and dry, and the kids are in school. "Time to get back to work," I thought as I saddled up this morning.

Earlier as I was driving the kids to school we played "The Letter B Game Show." It's based on a favorite Sesame Street book, in which Bert is a contestant on Guy Smiley's TV show.

I play Guy Smiley. The kids are the contestants. All along the route to school I think up clues for different words that begin with the letter B. They totally love it.

When I was walking down to the arena I thought I'd think up some B words to help me focus on my ride. B for Bending. Balance. Bouncing--no, no, NOT bouncing, and I can't remember the other one.

Actually, they all went out the window almost immediately because Odie was just not having any of getting back to work. It was like we'd regressed 6 months. Nose in the air, zooming around, spooking at any little thing.

What a B for Butthead! I just about lost my temper--sawing on my horse's mouth to get him to stop is not something I usually do. But I pulled it together and got a decent ride, mostly because I had the conviction that we could do B for Better.

Speaking of being better, Dressage Mom was recently writing about a fall: "if I were a better rider..." It just haunted me a little to hear her say it. What a set up for one's ego, and yet we all do it sometimes.

Funny how today, I just decided I would be better. I just knew I could do it. Other days, I think I'll never be any better. Never as good as someone else I might hold up above myself.

If I want to compete next summer, I need to get some sports psychology tools. No sense in spending the time and money on showing just to get hung up on a random B for Bad day.

That would be B for bullsh@#!