Lots of Work Ahead

Wednesday, June 18
Copper and I have a lot of work ahead of us. We rode the end of last week and he was feeling good! He didn't act up but it took a few minutes to get his attention. A couple of friends and I haul into town most every week and ride at a nice arena. This is a great opportunity for Copper to get out and see new things, and it's fun. He has a lot of heart but I need help perfecting his running walk and canter. Anne, our Marketing Media Manager here, has tons of experience with Tennessee Walkers and is willing to give me some lessons to perfect his gears. I hope we can begin this week.


We also have had some issues with trailer loading. He has always been a great loader, even when he was young. Two summers ago I was hauling him quite a bit and he got kind of trailer sour. He knew when I loaded him up he was going to have to work. And that's the thing, it's not like this horse has ever known a real hard day's work like some horses out there or even performance horses for that matter. Anyway, to get ready for this year's riding season I have taken him back to basics.


We started doing all the groundwork about three months ago and within that was trailer loading. I tried the feeding him in the trailer but that doesn't really get the horse good and reliable to get in the trailer. He should get in there because I ask him to. He was used to an open top stock trailer and I got a 20 foot closed trailer. I thought maybe he was a little scared so I gave him plenty of time to warm up to it and that was why I started feeding him in it.


Well, once I knew he was fine with the trailer (he would stand in it on his own parked out in the pasture) he started making getting in the trailer a battle of wills. That's the thing about Copper, he is never malicious but he is always testing me. So to make a long story short, we practiced last night and he hopped right up in the trailer. I make a big fuss over him and tell what a good boy he is and he lowers his head and licks his lips. He loves attention and scratches behind his ears. It was kinda dusky so that made it even better. We will see how it goes tonight riding in town.


See ya,
Dara