Saddlebred in Training!

Remington Day 4

 Remington is here in training at Windy Hill.  We adore "Remi" as we affectionately call him.  I spell his name (Remi/Remy/ Remie)  ~ it's all the same.  So, if you happen to catch that peculiarity, all hate emails shall be ignored.

Remi was terrified of trailers, I mean, really, really frightened.  To the point of breaking into a cold sweat and tying up just because he is close to one! 

Getting Remi in a trailer to actually get here was a night mare.  When the trembling Remi arrived here and unloaded from the trailer he was off his feed for three days.  Remi was scared.

I knew we would have our work cut out for us.

On Day one of his training my goal was simply to get him within 6 feet of the trailer without having a nervous breakdown.

By day 3 I had him touching the trailer with his nose comfortably and then walking away.   I used the Parelli touch game for this.

Here you see him below touching the trailer.  His owner and I were thrilled with his progress!

I was so happy to send the above video to Remi's owner!  In only three days, he had progressed from nervous wreck to trailer toucher!  Hurray for Remi!

Remi Day 6, he has his face in the trailer!! 

I know it doesn't seem like much for a horse to have his face in the very, very end of the trailer, but for Remi this was a really big step.  He spent days 4 and 5 eating just outside of the trailer.  This was only after a rousing game of touch the trailer for about 10 minutes first.  He wouldn't even consider eating near the trailer if I had not played touch the trailer first.

                                                                  ~ baby steps~

Days 7-10 eating with his head AND neck in the trailer!

Remy was breifly stuck at this point in regards to his comfort level.  He would rather walk away and not eat at all than to put even ONE foot in the trailer.  So, listening to the horse, I allowed him to eat this way for 3 days, each day asking him to juuust come a little further and gauging my next move based on his reaction.  This work was down twice a day, every day.  Starting first with touch the trailer, until on day 10 Remi ignored my request to touch the trailer and just calmly ate his meal.  I asked him to come forward and put one foot in the trailer.... Remi declined.

Day 11

 On day 11, we started out as normal with just head and neck in the trailer.  However, this time when I moved the food back a little bit further, instead of walking away...Remi did this ~

Remi stepped into the trailer!! Both front feet! 

And Calmly back out when he was finished eating! 

I was thrilled with this great leap of faith from Remi!

                                ~ Then the vet came~ 
Remi has to be the most observant horse I have ever met.  He watches everything.  He is always very interested in what the humans are doing.  He knows what is going on at all times.  When the red vet truck pulled up he promptly took himself to the very farthest reaches of the pasture.  How did he even know?  I can only presume vet trucks carry with them a certain "vet smell" that horses can pick up on.

I explained to the vet that the first time I had wormed Remi, I worked with him for over an hour in order to get him to accept worming without too much protest.  I further explained that I normally give my own vaccinations, however Remi was against that idea to the point of being dangerous.  The vet was very kind and worked with Remi for a good 35 minutes to get the 2 shots administered to Remi ~ this after being knocked over twice!  Remi's owner had really wanted Remi's teeth looked at, however Remi was having none of that!  Suffice it to say, it was a very traumatic experience for Remi.  Over the next few days, Remi regressed back to the horse that wouldn't step into a trailer even if you had baked apple surprise laid out on a buffet for him.

                                           ~I listened to the horse ~ 
In my years of training horses, so many people have commented that it just "takes so long" and "Why don't you just put him in the trailer already!"  I know there are many different ways to train a horse to trailer load.  In the case of Remi, due his great fear based on bad experiences he has had in the past with trailers, I chose to train him to trailer load the same way I do the mustangs straight off the range.  Yes, it does sometimes take a long time.  However, when I am finished with Remi, he will be more than happy to walk onto a trailer at any time ~ without the food as a reward ~ 

Fast Forward to Day 18

I worked with Remi every day, twice a day, concentrating on  getting him more and more comfortable with the trailer.  

After going through the different hills and valleys that are really part of training any horse, Day 18 proved to be a major breakthrough for Remi!

See the Video below!

I am so proud of him!  I have more work to do with Remi's trailer loading.  The final goal is to have Remi loading himself into the trailer and waiting patiently for the bar to be put up and the door to be closed.  We still have some work to do, but I am 100% confident in his ability to be a trailer loading champion!

Remi's owner loves to trail ride ~ Remi was newly obtained July 15th and she hopes to have him trailer ready prior to the end of trail riding season.  She even plans to take him all the way to Florida this winter!  Based on this information, I want Remi to love the trailer.  

I love a hot blooded horse with some interesting quirks to fix!  Remi is right up my alley!  His other issues include:

• A huge ~ dangerous aversion to shots ~ anything shot like and all pokey things in general
• Any kind of pressure on the crest of his neck or pole
• Anything that looks like wormer anywhere near his face.

I intend to get Remi's normal "before" reactions on video and keep you updated as we go along.  I have already missed a little bit of the before part, as I have begun working with him on these things already.  I shall get his reactions on film ASAP!

~ As a trainer I feel it is really important to get "points" of progress on film, or in someway documented.  The biggest reason is because, quite often from the owners perspective, it appears that the animal has not made any progress, or that it is taking too long.  I never push the horse beyond his mental, physical, or emotional ability to comply with the desired action.  I DO push the horses boundaries, but I never push beyond.  It's a fine line.