Picture taken August 2011So we worked on walking, trotting, halts and lowering his head. He did great. He was getting excited and being kind of bratty, but I don’t care because it means he feels good and he wasn’t being ugly or dangerous. He was really into the trotting because he was following the target. The only problem I had with that is that he was getting a little ahead of me about thirty percent of the time and he was biting at the target about ninety percent of the time. Dude has some jaws on him lol.
With the halts I was swinging the target to his chest to get a quick halt and he did well, except for biting at it (which was cute because of the curled neck) and he was lifting one or other of his front legs. Too cute. Maybe it won’t be hard to teach him to do the Spanish Walk and rear (way, way in the future) by targeting his knees to the target. :D
With the head lowering he offers it on his own at the walk and at the trot I hold the target low so that he reaches down. Toward the end of the walk I had the target under my arm and he wasn’t offering to lower his head like he usually does so I reached up and squeezed his crest (top of his neck) and he lowered it!! He did it several times so I know it wasn’t a fluke.
When we were done I led him back to the house and put up his target and treats. Then I led him toward the pasture. This is the most exciting part, he actually pulled me over to the horse trailer!! We have to pass it on our way to the pasture. He hung his head over the ramp like he wanted to load so I lowered it. He immediately walked halfway on with no hesitation and looked at me like he was waiting for his treat. Stupid me had already put them in the house but I praised him vocally. Then he started playing with the bedding in the floor of the trailer. I finally asked him to back off and let him graze a little. I was so excited! He obviously does not associate the trailer with going to the vet and being in pain. Thank goodness!! :D
That's awesome about him wanting to get into the trailer!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good boy. :)
Love the picture too. He still looks young, but he's really starting to look more grown up.
cheers,
Mary
Not thinking thd trailer is bad is wonderful. Pippi was excellent at loading until she was to be loaded behind another horse. He balked and acted out, and so we struggled for almost a year after that.
ReplyDeleteChrome is a good boy, clearly very intelligent. Makes me want to call Othello even more. Lol
I use iMovie to edit my videos. Not sure if it has a face smudge option or not.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it was a great day for you both. I was wondering if he might have lingering effects with the trailer incident, it sounds like it should be pretty easy to get him back on track with that. I was wondering, how long does it take for the testosterone and hormones to settle before you will be able to tell any difference in studly behavior? I guess I could google it, I was just wondering.
ReplyDeleteMary Hunter, he is starting to look more mature isn't he? Actually he's always been a well proportioned guy. He went through very few gangly stages. I was very pleased and relieved that he didn't seem to have any concerns about the trailer.
ReplyDeleteEmma, don't you hate when something happens like that? A minute that causes a year of stress. I'm glad you were able to work through it. :) I think you should call Othello! I would love to see a half Friesian baby out of Pippi.
Mango Mama, thank you for the info. My husband might be getting some video editing software from school. Yay!
Mary, I answered your question on your blog, but I'll answer here too in case someone else is interested. It take about a month for all of the testosterone to leave his body, but it can take up to six months before he forgets that he was a stallion. I hope his personality doesn't change too much though because I love him how he is now. :) It wasn't fair to leave him a stallion though since I have no plans of ever breeding him.