Casey Jane and I have been playing with the flatbed trailer as preparation for trailer loading.
Horses often don't like trailers because a trailer is a very tight space--essentially a cave on wheels. Tight
walls, low roof, and having to step up off the ground onto a surface that makes strange noises when you walk on it...
She's slightly unconfident about stepping on strange things, so the flatbed is an ideal way to work on stepping up onto
a trailer, practice walking on something besides solid earth, and work on backing up and backing off of something.
These are photos from late October 2008 and her second time getting all the way on the trailer. We used a lot of approach and
retreat, first just sniffing it, then one foot on, then two feet on and off, then all four feet on.
Casey Jane thinks about the flatbed trailer and wonders why my camera phone keeps making these strange beeping noises.
Two feet on and slightly unsure.
Two feet on and more confident. Now she's curious about the dogs, the camera, and when she's going to get her next cookie.
All four feet on!
Sniffing around to make sure everything's alright. Or perhaps just looking for another cookie.
Always happy to eat a bit of grass
Always happy to learn something new for a bit of grain. I had convinced her previously to walk over the pallets, but hadn't
been able to get her to put two feet on them. She's quite food motivated.
October 2008
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