Sunday, September 23, 2018:
The truck and trailer are officially parked at the barn. They're down by the show stalls, so we're out of the way and can have minimal distractions.
Sunday night was our first session and it went fairly well. I had a bucket of soaked alf cubes with the plan to just let him eat it halfway up the ramp. But he let me move it further and further in the trailer until his front feet were in the trailer and his hind feet were two steps up the ramp. He was willing to stay in that far for a while before wanting to back out and look at the scenery. Overall, he was fairly relaxed and got pretty far up the ramp several times during our session.
The best part was that when I walked him up to the ramp and clicked he followed me up. He didn't just go forward because of the treats, but it was because I had asked him to. To me that's one of the best sessions we've had just because of that fact.
Monday, September 24, 2018:
Mort got on and off the trailer twice last night!
He got on about 3/4 of the way twice then finally stepped all the way on for his alf. I gave him several bites then went back to close the butt bar. He got several more bites and just chilled. I then backed him off quietly.
Next attempt got about 3/4 of the way in again; then the one after that he went all the way in. I gave him alf and did the butt bar and ramp. After hanging out for a little bit I went to back him out. He did slip on the ramp some on the way down as it had started raining. Hopefully not enough to spook him for next time, but I'll find out soon enough. I thought about trying to get him on the ramp again to make sure he thought it was safe, but with it being wet I didn't want to risk him slipping again so I called it a fairly successful day and let him go to turnout.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018:
The vet was coming out to do Mort's teeth but he was running late so I grabbed a bag of apple pieces and headed down to the trailer.
Mort got on fully the second attempt, but since he just had apple pieces when I went back to put up the butt bar he backed out with me. But since I wasn't at his head, he backed poorly and flipped up the rubber covering the crack--which scared him because it might have been death.
So I got him all the way on the ramp several times after that, but I didn't get him back on again. Ugh. I ended with asking him to step forward on the ramp, treat, then step backward just one step, treat. I did that a few times and called it quits because I ran out of treats. We'll try again tomorrow and I'll most likely just hang out with him in the trailer instead of messing with the butt bar. Hopefully I can get him on and off a couple times.
Wednesday, September 26, 2018:
In spite of a lot of chaos from the arena being re-done Mort was a rock star.
First attempt at getting on the trailer he got about 3/4 of the way on then backed most of the way off, but when I asked him again he walked right up the whole way.
I then backed him down and asked him to stop partway down the ramp (so his front feet were on the ramp and his hind were off). I gave him an alf cube for stopping then asked him to walk back in and he did.
Then we slowly backed off again and I let him graze a minute. Asked him to get back on and he hesitated but then proceeded to walk right in.
Finally I walked him into the barn aisle and we milled around in there for a minute. Then I walked back out to the trailer and he followed me right up without even hesitating. What a good, good boy.
Every time that he gets on he gets to relax a few minutes and munch on his soaked alf cubes. The good news is that he's never been nervous about actually being in the trailer, so that part is nice and relaxing. He gets better every day so hopefully we can keep working and build his confidence more and more.
Thursday, September 27, 2018:
Mort stepped about halfway up on our first attempt. Then he walked up for me.
We grazed a bit then walked back over. He did the thing where he stopped and looked around before getting on, but once he had stared for a bit he decided to walk right in.
The third time we walked into the barn for a minute then headed back out and he walked right in.
After I was done feeding him some alf I tied him to the side of the trailer while I closed up all the doors. I prefer having a stall if we go to a show, but that's not always possible so standing tied is always good practice as well.
Saturday, September 29, 2018:
Mort headed right in after a slight hesitation of looking around. That was normal for him before our trailering issues, so I'm not too preoccupied with that going away.
I had him load twice and he did really well both times. I let him graze by the trailer as I closed it up and he did fine with all the noise and commotion that comes with that.
Sunday, September 30, 2018:
Two more successful loading attempts. He stops at the end of the ramp, looks around then walks right in with no issues. He's backing down slowly and stopping partway down for me to stuff another treat into his mouth before backing the rest of the way.
Tonight the plan is to load him before my ride and see if that makes any difference in his attitude about it since he'll have more energy than after. I'm also going to bring out a hay bag and potentially put some bedding in it. I just want him to see different items in the trailer that will be in there when we actually go someplace.
I'd like to move the truck and trailer to another location on the farm and see if he'll load in the new spot. Then I'd like to load him and take him on a short drive, and come back to the farm to see if he'll unload and load again. After that I'm thinking I may start scouting for a clinic in the near future. We'll see how the next week or so goes!
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