Since there's a chance that I'll be traveling with Max this weekend, tonight I decided that I should review the trailer loading basics with Max. I made sure to arrive at the stables with plenty of daylight left and proceeded to lunge Max in the round pen to warm him up and work out any issues.
Afterwards, I led Max to the usual three-horse slant load trailer I practice on. Unfortunately, it seems like the stable-owner had decided to do some homebrew job of adding a new divider so the dimensions were all wrong. I couldn't get the divider open so I could use the entire trailer and there wasn't really enough room in the back to work with (Max just isn't that small!).
So next I decided to practice loading in the larger four-horse camper-trailer combo which is quite ample (which is why I normally don't use it to practice with because it's not really representative of the trailer types that Max might have to ride in).
So for the next 15-20 minutes, I practiced walking Max in the trailer and making him stand inside for about a minute or so. Then I'd make Max back up out of the trailer. Everything seemed to work out allright, only a couple of times did he balk at going in and that was quickly fixed without any drama.
Overall, it was a success so he should be good this weekend.
Afterwards, I led Max to the usual three-horse slant load trailer I practice on. Unfortunately, it seems like the stable-owner had decided to do some homebrew job of adding a new divider so the dimensions were all wrong. I couldn't get the divider open so I could use the entire trailer and there wasn't really enough room in the back to work with (Max just isn't that small!).
So next I decided to practice loading in the larger four-horse camper-trailer combo which is quite ample (which is why I normally don't use it to practice with because it's not really representative of the trailer types that Max might have to ride in).
So for the next 15-20 minutes, I practiced walking Max in the trailer and making him stand inside for about a minute or so. Then I'd make Max back up out of the trailer. Everything seemed to work out allright, only a couple of times did he balk at going in and that was quickly fixed without any drama.
Overall, it was a success so he should be good this weekend.
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