On Sunday, Odin the Mustang and I were invited to go on a trail ride. If you’ve been following along you’ll remember that Odin is a bit sticky about getting in the trailer. My friend offered to pick us up since the parking area is just down the road and we wanted to find out if he’d be more willing if another horse was in the trailer already. Her horse is calm and has been trailering for many years so it seemed like a good plan.
Frankly, Odin just doesn’t want to get in the trailer. He’s not particularly scared but he doesn’t like small spaces. I get it, I don’t either. Ellen took her horse out so there’d be more room in the trailer. It still took a while to get in. I used the refusals as an opportunity to back up, even under the carport roof. He doesn’t like roofs either. I used the refusals as an opportunity to drive him forward. Eventually he got in, Ellen’s horse loaded up like a champ and off we went.
Tying to the trailer, tacking up, and actual trail riding is pretty easy for Odin. He’s not spooky but cautious about going over logs. I suspect that he’s still working on his balance carrying a rider so we take the easiest way possible and sometimes follow other horses closely. He can be the front horse but he tends to move out so we leave riders behind and it startles him when horses come trotting up behind him. All these issues are growing pains that will be non-issues over time. It was a beautiful day on Sunday with some lingering snow. The sun was out and the mountains in the distant were in view. I was riding with two experienced riders on their calm, experienced mares. Toward the end of the ride Odin spooked once at who knows what. By then I was so relaxed that I just went with him and he never goes far. We decided the best position for him was between the mares and his head went down immediately. Once we approached the gate, I got off to give him room to feel comfortable winding through the narrow pathway that keeps motorized vehicles out. Plus I was ready to walk by then. We’d been out for at least a couple hours and I need to stretch my legs, warm up my feet.
Getting Odin back in the trailer was a slightly different but as lengthy exercise. His feet get stuck, so we back up and practice going forward, which occasionally requires a whack with the string popper. I despise doing that and try to encourage forward movement with popping the string behind him but sometimes that doesn’t work. Frankly, sometimes popping his bum with the popper doesn’t work. We’re still figuring out what does work. One thing I noticed is that I was blocking him from getting into the trailer by directly facing him. Once I turned to the side, he was more willing to get in. We practiced that a couple times and by the third time he got in and stood by the hay net while I tied him in and secured the divider. Backing out of the trailer is getting more calm and controlled. We’ll get there.