Dublin Does Trailer Loading

We're hoping to get Dublin out on the trail before too long, ponied behind Cowboy, but first we need to be sure we can get him in and out of the trailer willingly. Of course he's been trailered before but we want to make sure he's happy about it. When I brought him home, I used my trailer, which is a 2-horse slant with a wide door, and it was easy for him to hope in and he could turn around and come out forwards. Laura's trailer is a larger 3-horse slant, but it has a tack room in the back, so the horse entry door is narrower as is the entrance to the trailer. We weren't too worried about getting him in but we want to make sure he can back out easily as he's a little big to get turned around in there.

We have introduced him to the trailer and gotten his front feet in. Today it's just too hot to do anything strenuous but this seemed like a low-level activity. He put his front feet in a few times and backed right back out. The more times we did this, the less interested he became in going all the way in, so we hung a hay bag at the front of the trailer. Voila! My big food-a-holic hopped right in!

We let him eat a bit and then tried backing him out. Dublin has gotten quite good at backing up--but that hay bag was sitting enticingly at the front of the trailer, so we had to remove that. He did a nice job backing up but he knew that step was at the back and wasn't very confident about it. I finally broke all trailer safety rules and got in with him to back him out, which worked beautifully. He didn't do the most graceful step down from the trailer I've ever seen, but he made it without getting overly anxious.

So that roadblock has been passed nicely! Tomorrow we'll put him in again and make sure he's OK with shipping boots, and then on Monday he'll go in with Cowboy and we'll do a little trip around the block. If all that goes well, as I suspect it will, then I think we're good to go with ponying him on an easy trail ride!

I've been short of time to work with him, and Cowboy has been getting even less attention, but it seems that Cowboy could use a little more work. Last night we were just hanging out on horseback in Laura's pasture when Cowboy decided it was time to go home. Right now. I was riding him with a halter, which I've been doing for the last 8 years, but he dug his nose into it and just took off for home. I finally got him stopped as we were headed at a good clip through the gate--after having ducked through both of the narrow and low barn doors.  Bad pony! Somebody needs a little more focused attention and leadership! He got that this morning in spite of the heat. And he will be wearing a bit when he ponies Dublin. The "crazy OTTB" is turning out to be the mellow one around--it's the nice seasoned 17-year-old Quarter Horse that is becoming the handful.

Got to play with my new camera lens last week. Here's a pic of Dublin proving that he may not have been a winner on the track but he does know how to run.