My Friend Grayson

I May Go The Treeless Saddle Route

2012-01-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

I think I've decided to take a new route with saddles. As I mentioned the other day, Grayson has yet again outgrown his saddle and I haven't been happy with a saddle fit since he was 4-years-old. I've even had a Wintec with the interchangeable gullets.

Right now I don't do a ton of riding and the riding we do is very light (maybe that will change after lessons) so I'm deciding between a Cashel soft saddle and a Barefoot treeless saddle, more specifically the Cheyenne.

Source: Equine Now

I know the soft saddle is essentially a glorified bareback pad but Grayson's former foster mom uses one and recommends them as long as you use a breastcollar. The reviews are mostly negative though...especially when it comes to the stirrups. Have any of your guys used or owned one of these before?

Source: Your Horse Forum

The Barefoot saddle seems to be a pretty popular brand for treeless. I'm a complete treeless newb but I think it may be a good option for Grayson with those big stinkin' (or just awkward?) shoulders he has. Any recommendations here?

I'm leaning toward the Cheyenne treeless saddle but in the end it will be about twice the price of the Cashel. Although I must say the synthetic Cheyenne is priced very well but the treeless saddles do need a more expensive pad so there's a little extra money there.

Any other saddles out there that you guys recommend for horses with big sloping shoulders? I don't think he's necessarily a wide horse; it's just his shoulders come back so far so if I have an English treed saddle with a very forward flap, it'll interfere with his shoulder movement. Unfortunately I think Grayson is very tolerant when it comes to pain and ill fitting saddles. I wish he would be more of a baby. This is also a horse that had two broken, infected teeth for probably six months. :( Sheesh!

Body Shots

2012-01-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

I promised you guys some body shots of Grayson. He's definitely filling out since he has outgrown yet another saddle. Have I told you guys how much I dislike saddle shopping? :D

Anyhow, here's a picture of Gray in early October.

And here's Grayson in December.

I know he's not in the same exact position but trust me, he's gained weight and looks great. :)

I'm sick of it being dark by the time I get to the barn but I'm lucky in that I do have a lighted barn where I can do some clicker work. Like I mentioned above, I'm also looking for a new saddle...especially because I've decided to start taking lessons on Grayson in March! Woo hoo! I'm not really sure why I've dragged my feet so long but I'm ready to start making some progress with this boy...he'll be 7 in May!

In other exciting news, we got a new kitten!

Her name is Addie. :)

And We're Back!

2011-12-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, can you believe it's been almost 2 months since I've posted?

Well a lot has happened...all good. :)

At the end of October I moved from Wilmington, NC to Charleston, SC. Justin's parents and sister live nearby and I got an AWESOME job offer from a great marketing agency in town so we decided to move. It all happened really quick and the reason I couldn't talk about it, is because Justin wanted to work through the end of November. I didn't want to "give it away."

I also got engaged at the end of November!! woo hoo! We went on a cruise to the Bahamas and Justin proposed on the cruise. We have not officially set a date but we're thinking April of 2013.

Here's my ring.

I moved down Friday, October 28 and Grayson came down the following morning. I feel bad for the poor guy, he's been moved so much in the past year but handles it fairly well. I'm hoping we're at our new place for the long haul.

The barn is about 30 minutes away (the only bummer) but the care is the best he's ever had and the place is very well kept.

Because of moving, the sun setting before I get off work and no indoor arena, I haven't been doing very much with my pal and I miss that. I definitely think writing on my blog and reading everyone else's blog gives me some accountability. Grayson and I are both happier when he's doing a little something.

The owner of the barn was determined to put some weight on Grayson before winter. I like my slim, trim boy but I LOVE my guy with some weight. He has very little muscle but he's developed a nice horse sized butt.

I need to get some good body shots for you guys but for now, you'll just have to look at him in his new rain sheet. I love the red and black!

Everything was going great until I got back from my cruise. Grayson is usually calm and ready for anything but something happened and he was explosive! Almost scary to me...he would buck at the walk...even bareback so it's not the saddle. And he would just blow up in hand. My first thoughts were he wanted more hay and he was just bored (he was kept by himself) but the barn owner suggested the feed. He is getting more feed than he's ever gotten but she's decided to switch him to something else. In addition to switching feed, he's now in with two other horses and they have plenty of hay and some grass. Since the changes, he's been much better but he definitely needs to get back to his job (which is? ha ha! whatever fun thing I decide we're in to that week) Anyhow, I was getting panicked that my lovely horse was becoming high maintenance. :)

I'm glad to be back and I hope you haven't forgotten about me.

Win a De La Coeur Fly Bonnet

2011-10-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

Okay so I may not have an English saddle right now but I'm dying for a new leather saddle...someday (hopefully soon) I'll be able to prep out Grayson...a new fly bonnet would definitely tie the look together.

Go try and win a De La Coeur fly bonnet for your pony!

Grayson said he wants a fancy fly bonnet...not a cheapo one. :)

Sometimes My Dreams Are Like This! :) Ha ha!

2011-10-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

This was part of a Disney Sing-Along-Songs VHS I had as a kid. I stumbled upon it the other day and was so excited. Did any of you guys have those Disney song tapes? I loved 'em!

A Successful Trailer Loading Update

2011-10-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hey guys...I know you're all probably sick of hearing about my trailer loading escapades, right? :)

Well I found a local professional on Facebook that said she worked on a flat fee and guaranteed her work...plus it's never taken her more than 2 hours.

I contacted her through Facebook to ask about her techniques, her schedule, etc...

Things sounded ideal so I scheduled her to come out today and here's what I got (I know the picture is dark but you can see his stockings)...

Woo hoo! She definitely had to work for it but she used the whole "the only place you can rest is the trailer" technique...which I believe is what Kate used with Lucy.

We loaded him (I even did it a few times) about a dozen times today. She said I might need to do a reminder lesson with him sometime in the future but it wont take anywhere near as long. And after watching her for two hours...I definitely have a good idea of what to do.

I think my pony is going to sleep well tonight. I know I will. :)

I'm going to load him again on Wednesday to make sure it's not a fluke! And if he does give me any sort of sass, it'll be the perfect time and location to fix it since we wont have any where to go.

Lesson learned: it's okay to ask a professional for help. I should've done this months ago.

Twitter?

2011-10-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Are any of you guys on Twitter? I've been on Twitter for years but I never use it.

If you are on Twitter...follow me @jkurpiew

Stick With What's Fun

2011-10-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting much but I've been spending plenty of time with G. The vet decided to extend his antibiotics out another week so I've been going out twice a day for three weeks. It's been bittersweet. I enjoy seeing the horses in the morning but I dislike going out in work clothes...plus my hair always got frizzy from the humidity! On a sidenote... his socket it doing well!

So I was lunging Grayson the other day and I realized that we were both miserable with it...we were both giving each other the stink eye. I've never liked lunging a horse...although I do like other kinds of groundwork. I think I get bored with it...

It dawned on me so quickly that I just stopped what we were doing, grabbed his bridle and my helmet and went for a bareback jaunt. Within a minute we were both back to ourselves. I've done this several times in the past 2.5 years we've been together...I try to force things that neither of us like doing.

So for the past week, I've been riding him bareback for 20 minutes or so. I love love love riding bareback in the fall with the sun setting. I also forgot how awesome Grayson's steering is...I'm continuously surprised by how soft he is...even in the bitless bridle. We do circles around trees, figure 8s, 5 loop serpentines and the old "turn right at that weed and then a left at the next one...halt...okay now back back back." ha ha!

I've also been absent from posting because we have a big life change going on...I can't reveal any details just yet but it's good! :)

Thoughts and Prayers for Andrea and Gogo

2011-10-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Like many other horse bloggers out there, my thoughts and prayers are with Andrea and Gogo today.

You two are both awesome ladies and a wonderful team.

Ah What a Week

2011-10-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well Grayson is home from State and recovering well. The whole process went about 500 times better than last time but it's still exhausting from hauling to missing work and spending a bunch of money.

They only took the one tooth like we had originally planned...I'll post a picture soon! He still has two more "bad" teeth. The good news is the those two teeth and the rest of the teeth in his mouth are about the same as they were 6 months ago.

He was a stellar patient. They actually used "rockstar" in a conversation with me. They love him there. <- I know, I'm sure they love all the animals that come through. The day we left, he had shavings in his tail...someone was getting some serious zzz's in his fluffy stall.

Loading (both to get him there and back) was pretty bad. siggggggh. Once he's on, he rides fine but he does not want to get on. At State they actually aced him and basically lifted him on the trailer. :( I can probably bring myself to tears if I think about it enough. I've developed a trailer complex too.

The owner of my current barn seems to have confidence with training a horse to load and unload. I've asked him to help me. He's great with horses but this is the first time I'm paying someone to work with my horse for me. It makes me feel pretty crappy to be honest. I know that's silly because people pay trainers every single day all around the world. But this is something I've just failed at...I've tried to fix it and couldn't. Perhaps I have too much emotional baggage with it?

I think they had their first session today. My horse is still alive and I haven't received any nasty emails so I guess it went OK. :/ The word "trailer" makes my stomach knot up.

Off to State We Go

2011-10-04T03:03:00.000-07:00

Today is the day I'm taking Grayson to State to get another tooth pulled. I'm no where near as nervous as I was the first time around but I'm not really looking forward to it.

Of course I'm apprehensive about the whole trailer thing. But I found a really nice woman to haul him there for me...she even dropped off her trailer so we could practice. Unfortunately last night was my first opportunity to practice. Luckily, he did well. I got all 4 feet in the trailer but didn't force the issue of him getting up far enough to latch the butt bar. It was definitely a positive experience so hopefully he'll just hop on today.

His exam is today and the tooth will come out tomorrow...I'm guessing he'll come home Thursday. As of now, they're just supposed to take one tooth. I hope that's all they need to take. Actually, I secretly hope we go up there and they don't even need to take that tooth. Wishful thinking...

I'll keep you guys updated!

Snap, Crackle, Pop

2011-09-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

First off, Grayson's stocked up hind legs were much much better today. Still a little puffy but improvement is definitely good.

Do your horses pop when they walk? Mine does (only at the walk) and he's only 6 years old...plus he's popped for as long as I've had him.

I'm pretty sure he has some stifle issues which from what I'm reading, is pretty common. Annnnd a few times now it's felt as if he slipped on a banana peel while I'm riding him. It's seriously the weirdest feeling EVER. He always catches himself and he's never lame coming out of it but the whole thing makes me treat him like a porcelain doll afterwards.

Today was the first time I could pinpoint what side that popping is coming from...left. Yuck! It freaks me out but as far as I can tell, he's not even phased by it.

Of course I came home and Googled it <- not the first time. There are tons of articles and forum posts on this issue. Seems like there are several solutions that prove successful:
-Hill work
-Lots of trotting
-Ground poles
-Minor surgery (I've read that this is for severe issues and I've also read that this is "out of style"

Confession time: I'm afraid to really ride Grayson because I don't want him to get hurt. How lame?! I mentioned this earlier but yes, I treat him like a fragile china doll. Funny thing? Horses with stifle issues are usually out of shape with no muscle tone to support the area. So in reality, I'm not doing him any favors. I'm learning that everything in life is about balance and I need to find some way to get there with riding him.

Don't judge... I hope I'm not the only one that's afraid to break my horse. :)

Grayson's Mystery Filling

2011-09-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Gosh I just read about Pongo's mystery leg filling the other day and sure enough, I get to the barn on Friday night and Grayson's hind legs are stocked up.

Here's a pic...although it seems to look a lot worse in person. ha ha!

I was all ready to swing up the saddle, I glanced at his hind legs and did a double take. Gaaaaah! He had cankles!

Last night I cold hosed him and we took a short walk...by the time I left they both looked a little better.

Of course I went out first thing this morning and they were still stocked up but not as bad as the night before. There's no heat, his temp is 98.9 and he's eating, drinking, pooping, etc... I'm not the best lameness judge but he seems a little stiff.

I sent a pic to my vet and he said to keep walking and cold hosing...he didn't seem overly concerned. He's coming out Tuesday to see another horse so if Grayson's still stocked up by then, he'll look him.

This is my first experience with any swelling like this. I don't think it's scratches and I don't think it's an injury. My guess is an allergic reaction to something in the pasture...he's still in the same field but I know new weeds have by popping up. My second guess is some sort of bug sensitivity. The bugs have been AWFUL and it's been so wet.

I did ride verrrrry lightly tonight and he felt fine. I also worked on some lateral stuff with the clicker. He willingly did anything I asked.

Oh ponies, it's always something! It seems someone is always blogging about something going on with their horse! :)

Hello, Mr. October!

2011-09-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys!

So I have some exciting news. Back in April, I submitted a picture of Grayson to be considered for the 2012 United States Equine Rescue League calendar.

Well I heard last week that his picture has been chosen! He's October...my favorite month!

Here's a picture of his month!

If you're interested in purchasing a calendar, they're $15 and the proceeds benefit the United States Equine Rescue League which is the group I got Grayson from.

The Power of Operant Conditioning

2011-09-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

A friend and I were talking about classical and operant conditioning this morning...after all, clicker training is based on operant conditioning. I told him that operant conditioning has been used to train horses, people, dolphins, dogs and even goldfish. I hadn't read much about the last one so I dug a little deeper.

I found an awesome article about teaching tricks to goldfish.

The blog's linked to the impressive video below. This plain old goldfish pole bends, does the limbo and even puts a little ball into a soccer net. :) Definitely worth the watch.

Clicker Training: Trailer Loading (Session 4)

2011-09-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

Whew it's been a while since we've worked on trailer loading.

I had a third session a few days before Hurricane Irene. It was mega windy and he was like flying a kite. <- Pretty unusual for my Tubby. I continued any how. Stupid me decided against tying back the trailer door and of course the wind blew it closed...not completely but enough to scare him. I definitely didn't blame him on that one.

We continued and he gave me two feet with no problem but I could tell his mind wasn't in it. In the past, I would've forced it but I never get any where when I do that. I ask him to step up and back off a few more times.

That was the last time before today.

Today was our 4th session trailer loading session with the clicker and I was feeling good about it. After my 2nd session, I decided to just do it. Not over think it...not get disappointed if he doesn't get all the way in...I'm just looking for little improvements. This worked well and Grayson gave me more today than he has in the past. Once again, we can walk right up and he'll give me his front feet. It's the big step with his back feet that is holding us back.

But today I could tell that he was thinking about it more than he has in the past. At one point he picked up his left hind. I didn't even think to click until 20 seconds after. GAH! Clicker training fail. Luckily Grayson's a hard worker and gave me the little hind leg pick ups at least a dozen more times (alternated legs).

He didn't get in all the way but it's cool, I'm okay with that because like I said, it's more than he's given me in the past. He's definitely getting more comfortable with the whole process.

I'm also to the point where the trailer loading doesn't make me nervous or anxious. This is a big deal :) ha ha! I'm a type-A freak.

Also, I don't know if I told you guys but Grayson has to go back to State on October 4th to get another tooth pulled. It stinks but I'm okay with it...this is the tooth they said would have to come out in 6 months. It will be almost 6 months to the day.

One of my biggest stresses with my last trip to State was actually the transportation. I don't think I talked about it but it was AWFUL! I got ripped off and the people I used were not reliable...an all around bad experience.

I had originally wanted to get a trailer for myself but things just didn't fall into place.

So I vowed to find someone GOOD ahead of time. I've actually had several people volunteer for WAY less money.

Anyhow back to trailer loading, the woman I'm going to have haul Grayson has offered to drop off her trailer so I can practice. This is awesome because her trailer is the complete opposite of the one I'm using now. Her trailer is a dark 2-horse with a ramp...the trailer I'm using now is a 4-horse stock trailer that's a MAJOR step up. I should have trailer loading down once I can successfully load in both trailers.

I love this time of year but the bugs (mostly mosquitos) are horrendous...you can see Grayson's tail is working overtime. I feel bad for the ponies. But they'll be gone before we know it. Although I will say that I'm not looking forward to the grass dying.

I'm going to a wedding this weekend so I probably wont get in any major training until next week...although I might try to sneak in a bareback ride tomorrow. :)

'Twas a Nice Night

2011-09-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

We're All Over the Place

2011-09-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

I attempted a nice clicker session with Grayson tonight. OMMMMG I was soo excited to work with him...too excited really.

I got to the barn and could immediately tell he was feeling the cool (ish) fall air...he had this ridiculous swagger like he was all that and a bag of chips.

I wanted to work on two things tonight:

Ground tying
Spanish Walk

I think it's time to start some ground tying. Actually, going back I wish I wouldn't started with ground tying when I started clicker training. Everything I've taught Grayson with the clicker (to date) involves him moving his feet. Silly pony is now so eager, he's dancing all over the place.

I tried teaching ground tying years ago (before clicker training) but wasn't successful. I have trouble communicating what I want him to do. In my mind, I'm too vague in what I'm asking.

Anyhow maybe tonight wasn't the best night to try ground tying since it's been a week since he's had a clicker session and I was uber excited about training tonight.

Back to the drawing board on that one.

Second on the list was the Spanish Walk. I figured Grayson would nail this since he had a tendency to do similar moves at a stand still. Well I started working on it and it lasted about 5 minutes before I realize it was probably not a good idea to teach him something like that. A few years ago, I taught him paw. Well that just created a monster. I had this mental picture of him taking out a little kid because he wanted to give paw.

I'm not completely nixing the Spanish Walk but I'm going to approach it a little differently and I'll probably wait a few months when hopefully I'm a little better clicker trainer.

I wasn't super mad or disappointed that things didn't go as planned. I told achieve1dream that I used to get bummed out but now I look at it as an opportunity to go do a little more research which makes me a better trainer in the long run.

To calm down, I decided to take him for a little spin. We worked on figure 8s and circles at the walk. I mixed in a little trot at the end and he felt great. I love when it's not 95 degrees and he's more forward.

Plans for this weekend include another ride around the perimeter, another clicker session and maybe some trailer loading...although the trailer was gone tonight so I'm not sure that will happen.

Hope you guys have a great weekend with great fall-ish weather!

Feeling Guilty!

2011-09-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

I always feel guilty when I don't spend time with Grayson. It's like a part of me is missing :/ Love my pony time!

But between feeling really crappy for well over a week (pretty unusual for me!) and then having guests in town this weekend, I just haven't been able to make time for him. Last night I chose to hang out with Justin over Grayson...I figured people should come before horses. ha ha! :)

I'm also going out of town in two weekends so maybe I can get in some good training sessions in the next week or so. Definitely a trailer loading session or two...

Do you guys feel guilty when you don't see or work with your horses on a regular basis?

Granted Grayson is living the life. He has all the grass in the world and his good homies...I doubt he's complaining. :)

Lateral Work - Session 3

2011-09-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

First off, we had our first solo ride around the property's perimeter today. All in all he was pretty awesome. I was planning on grooming him and leaving once we got back but I decided to do a little clicker training with him.

We started with the ball. He gets so excited about that ball. I want him to eventually push it around by walking into it but I'm not sure how to get there. Right now, he just tries to step on it.

He's even possessive of the ball now!

Here's a little video of our play today.

I also worked on some lateral work with him. He's definitely improved since we started less than a week ago.

I got a video of that too. The videos help a ton to see what we both look like. e.g. that my last click in the ball video was waaaaay too late and that it sort've looks like I clicked Grayson for chasing Sid away from his ball.

Sounds like a successful day to me!

Make Haste Slowly

2011-09-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a week! I've been feeling pretty yucky all week...I even called in sick on Monday. I didn't visit Grayson Monday or Wednesday...you know I'm not feeling well when I skip pony time! :)
Anyhow, I'm feeling awesome now. It's funny how being sick makes things awesome when you feel better. OMG the sky is so pretty! OMG my pony is so handsome! OMG it smells sooo good outside. ha ha! Love it!

I had a great clicker session with Grayson tonight. We worked on our lateral movements. In my last post, I mentioned that I was working on shoulder-in with Grayson. He tried hard but wasn't really getting it. Typically when that happens, it's my fault. So tonight I went back and shaped the behavior...I broke it down into chunks he could understand. And of course the little bugger started catching on. I made tons of progress with that. I have to remind myself not to start with the goal...break.it.down.

We also polished dropping his head. He's learned to drop his head when I lightly squeeze his withers.

Backing up and general leading were also touched on. He was a little pushier tonight...I don't know if it's because my energy was all over the place or if it's because we haven't clicker trained since Sunday. I pushed through it and embraced his energy. To finish off our session, we played with the ball. It's seriously a blast. I have to get video sometime this weekend. I kick the ball and he trots after it and pushes it around with his nose. It makes me laugh!

My goals for the coming week are to do a solo ride around the perimeter of the property. I plan to use my target and the head dropping thing if he starts getting huffy puffy. I'm also due for another trailer loading session in the next week...it's funny, I don't dread it like I used to.

Hope you guys had an awesome week and are starting to enjoy this cooler weather.

I'll leave you with some recent pictures.

Safe and Sound

2011-08-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Grayson and all the other horses made it through the hurricane just fine. What a relief!

I did learn a few things:

While the fly mask seemed like a good idea, it didn't work that well. Grayson ended up half pulling it off so part of the fly mask covered his one eye. I'd rather him have two eyes to dodge flying debris.
The luggage tag was a big fail. Who knows where it is! Next time (hopefully not for a while), I'll get an engraved dog tag with his name and my number and then I'll zip tie it to his halter. I've heard those little metal rings bend and break

Anyhow, things are back to business as usual. I had a fantastic clicker session with Grayson today. We've started working on shoulder-in and continued work with the ball. He now pushes it around with his nose! So cute. I'm want him to eventually kick it around but right now he just tries to step on it. <- That's funny to me because this time last year he was afraid of that ball.

I also trotted him bareback across the field. He felt really good. And I must say he's much more comfortable to ride bareback now that he has some extra weight on him.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Many of you don't know but I live in coastal North Carolina...at the very south of the state. And if you haven't heard, there's a hurricane expected to pass by. Luckily we shouldn't get a direct hit but the storm is so large that we're going to get smacked. We've already had tropical storm force winds since 3ish this afternoon.

I've been sort've stressed this week because it's my first tropical weather with a horse. After going back and forth all week about whether I wanted to keep him here or move him inland, I've decided to keep Grayson here.

He's outside on 30ish acres with a few shelter options, groves of trees, varied terrain, etc... I put on his fly mask and a leather halter with a luggage tag that has his name and my phone number.

After talking with a bunch of horse people who have been through tropical weather, most are in agreement to keep the horses out as opposed to putting them in stalls. Apparently the horses huddle together, put their butts to the wind and just hunker down.

Anyhow the worst of the weather will be over by lunchtime tomorrow. I'll update with pictures sometime this weekend.

The Light Was AWESOME Tonight

2011-08-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Clicker Training: Trailer Loading (Sessions 1 and 2)

2011-08-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

For any new readers out there, here's a quick recap of what's been going on with the trailer loading. Grayson was/is an iffy loader, sometimes he would load just fine and others he would refuse. Because of this I got super nervous anytime he had to go some place so I decided it was time to work on it. After I moved him to his current barn, I started working on loading with pressure: I would pull the lead a little bit and he was supposed to step forward. If he pulled back, I let him. When I first started practicing, he loaded right away! But the second time he didn't, it took 45 minutes and then I couldn't even get his front feet on the trailer. He just kept backing up and backing up. I was very frustrated.

I did some research, talked to a few other bloggers (thanks for your tips) but ultimately I decided I wanted to try clicker training. As I said in a previous post, it fits my personality. You reward the positive behavior and ignore the negative. Plus clicker training is a science...it's just operant conditioning and has been proven for years and years and years on a variety of animals including dolphins.

Anyhow, we had our first session on Monday. I was nervous and skeptical to be honest.

Here's what I used:
-Target (crop with a tennis ball on the end)
-Clicker
-Cookie belt (filled with his dinner...muah ha ha ha!) <- I use grain because I'm trying to steer away from hard treats because of his teeth.
-Rope halter and lead rope

Session 1

I didn't really know what to expect trailer loading with the clicker. At first Grayson would just leeeeeeeean in as far as he could to touch the target. Once he realized he couldn't reach the target, he got concerned and slowly started back up.

One time I saw him pick up his left front. I don't know if he was swatting a fly or thinking about getting it but I clicked and praised him big time. He did it again with the other leg...I clicked and praised again. Pretty soon I had him alternating legs and then all of a sudden he calmly stepped up with his two front. We stood in there for about 5 minutes...I had to actually ask him to step down.

At one point I stepped back to see if he would step up with all four but he sunk back a little. I decided I wanted to end on a positive note so we stood with two feet a little longer.

I was shocked! Neither of us were upset and frustrated as we had been in the past.

Session 2

After our pretty successful first session with the clicker, I was uncertain how the second session would go. But he proved me wrong again. He immediately stepped up with two feet...click and a treat. I then asked him to back down...click and a treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I moved back a little bit and could immediately tell he was planning on getting in with all four. He got in but was immediately concerned. He tried to turn out, he panicked a little and then I slowly backed him out. It's painful to watch Grayson back out. He's clearly really really really worried about it. Oh well that's why we are practicing!

We got in a few more times with just the front to boost his confidence. I asked again for his whole body and he gave it to me. He also backed out a lot better.

I wanted a 3rd time with his whole body but I could tell his mind was just shot. I've read to keep clicker training sessions short and I imagine that is why. All and all I was very pleased with him.

Instead of practicing everyday, I'm going to practice trailer loading about 2-3 times a week. Some horses do better with the regular reminders but I think it's over kill with Grayson...he just gets annoyed with it.