I was not feeling confident with asking Kai to load even though I knew the steps to take, so I asked Kaila for help. At first Kaila had me ask Kai to sniff the floor of the trailer and to get his attention back on it if he looked away. I then needed to ask a little more of him every time.
Kai was resisting on the halter so I began to bump him and progressively got bigger until he put more effort in. Then Kai yanked me out of the trailer, and I started bumping him on his nose very hard. Then I got him go into the trailer before he had a chance to stop. I knew he wasn’t scared, just defiant, because he was blinking the whole time.
The more I slipped on the ice the more unconfident I felt. Kaila blocked the way back to the paddocks which limited Kai's airs above the ground to one direction.
Kai was leaping in the air and doing low rear turns so that he was facing sideways to the trailer. I bumped his nose harder again and asked him to load. Kai put both front feet in before jumping out and pulling me out.
I stood in the power position which did not help because there was an icy patch in front of the trailer. Kai dragged me through a snow bank. A snow bank! There was no way I was letting that rope go! I asked him again and when he refused I corrected him.
Kaila helped me feel confident and eventually Kai loaded up. I gave him a cookie and asked him to come out before it was his idea. I then loaded him again and let him rest inside. Kaila then told me that Kai had to load three times in a row without hesitating and then we were done. When he did load, I took him back to the indoor arena and put his cooler on and let him loose.
Kai rolled a few times and then wandered around as I emptied my boots from the snow and ate my sandwich. Kaila suggested that I could wrap another cooler around his neck to help it dry. I wrapped it around like a scarf. Kai then managed to shake his head in a way that the cooler covered his eyes. Then, the blindfolded Kai started to back up to see if he could back out from under it but found it to be ineffective.
He tried turning both ways but that still didn't work. Next Kai set off in a relatively straight line towards the gate. I told him to whoa but he barely flicked an ear in my direction no matter how loud I was and kept on walking. To his surprise, he bumped his nose on the gate.
The poor guy was completely confused. He turned his head in the direction of my voice and waited for me to approach. I talked the entire time so that he knew where I was. I lifted the blanket off his head and rubbed his nose. I draped the cooler on his head again and gave him a stud muffin. I waited until he was relaxed because I did not want him to be afraid of his face being covered.
Kai was resisting on the halter so I began to bump him and progressively got bigger until he put more effort in. Then Kai yanked me out of the trailer, and I started bumping him on his nose very hard. Then I got him go into the trailer before he had a chance to stop. I knew he wasn’t scared, just defiant, because he was blinking the whole time.
The more I slipped on the ice the more unconfident I felt. Kaila blocked the way back to the paddocks which limited Kai's airs above the ground to one direction.
Kai was leaping in the air and doing low rear turns so that he was facing sideways to the trailer. I bumped his nose harder again and asked him to load. Kai put both front feet in before jumping out and pulling me out.
I stood in the power position which did not help because there was an icy patch in front of the trailer. Kai dragged me through a snow bank. A snow bank! There was no way I was letting that rope go! I asked him again and when he refused I corrected him.
Kaila helped me feel confident and eventually Kai loaded up. I gave him a cookie and asked him to come out before it was his idea. I then loaded him again and let him rest inside. Kaila then told me that Kai had to load three times in a row without hesitating and then we were done. When he did load, I took him back to the indoor arena and put his cooler on and let him loose.
Kai rolled a few times and then wandered around as I emptied my boots from the snow and ate my sandwich. Kaila suggested that I could wrap another cooler around his neck to help it dry. I wrapped it around like a scarf. Kai then managed to shake his head in a way that the cooler covered his eyes. Then, the blindfolded Kai started to back up to see if he could back out from under it but found it to be ineffective.
He tried turning both ways but that still didn't work. Next Kai set off in a relatively straight line towards the gate. I told him to whoa but he barely flicked an ear in my direction no matter how loud I was and kept on walking. To his surprise, he bumped his nose on the gate.
The poor guy was completely confused. He turned his head in the direction of my voice and waited for me to approach. I talked the entire time so that he knew where I was. I lifted the blanket off his head and rubbed his nose. I draped the cooler on his head again and gave him a stud muffin. I waited until he was relaxed because I did not want him to be afraid of his face being covered.