Trailering Session #175, 9-28-2014, #thevolunteeringhorse

Life is what happens while you’re making other plans. Once again, I had plans to take Atticus on another short, three-mile trailer ride – assuming he loaded onto the trailer, stayed there, and indicated that it was okay to close … Continue reading →

Trailering Session, #174, 9-27-2014, #thevolunteeringhorse

Well, today was one of those days where I had my plans and the universe had others. My plan was to turn my rig around so that I could load Atticus in the parking area.  But I forgot how difficult … Continue reading →

Trailering Session, #173, 9-26-2014 – #thevolunteeringhorse

Today’s session went very well and was very fun and interesting. Since he actually went somewhere yesterday, three-mile trip around the block back to home, I wanted to check to see if he would get back on the trailer today.  … Continue reading →

Trailering Skills, Sessions #169-172, 9-25-2014

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Atticus and I practiced hand grazing.  Each day is getting better than the previous day.  He is not pulling me around nearly as much and I can get him redirected without having to use the … Continue reading →

Saddle Targeting, Hoof Work, and Sheath Cleaning, 9-19-2014

This gallery contains 3 photos.

I haven’t tried to ride Atticus in over a year.  Why?  Well, mostly because I was focused on trailering skills and desensitization.  Then last summer I took a break from all training for a few weeks.  Then this last winter … Continue reading →

Trailering Skills, Sessions 165-168, 9-19-2014

This gallery contains 2 photos.

For the past four sessions, I’ve been concentrating on walking Atticus around our parking area and yard. Why would this be part of trailering skills? In my opinion, I’ll need behaviors in place for offloading in strange places.  There’s no … Continue reading →

Trailering Skills, Sessions 160-164, 9-13-14

We haven’t worked on this in months. Months! But why months of nothing, you ask? Stuff. Stuff got in the way. Stuff like a really severe winter around here. A winter where I just wanted to curl up in all … Continue reading →

Atticus and Color Discrimination, 9-2-2014

I started working with Atticus yesterday on color discrimination based on what I did with chickens at the Bob Bailey-Parvene Farhoody Chicken Workshops last summer. The very first day I tried to set it up, I used a light, aluminum … Continue reading →