Trailer Loading Practice with Daniel (the PiePony)
by PiePony on Sun Aug 24, 2008
It was ten to six, nothing else needed doing and I ought to be going home really.
But Dan might want to be a riding pony and go to visit the off road toll rides with me in a year or two, so, better do a little trailer loading practice.
I had a halter handy and even though the trailer was not hitched up the jockey wheel was down.
Could n't hurt to just make sure my poor pony who is not a good traveller has a little look inside the box.
17.52pm I let down the ramp just to see how much mess the sheep had made yesterday, Steve had to fetch the rams home after a dog made 4 of them jump out over the fence of a well fenced field, leaving 8 bunched but worried.
17.53pm
17.53.30pm
Even though the floor has been cleared and sheep travelled twice since, this old trailer has been offering shelter to Danny's wife Ellie and son Maximus, I did n't have a carrot or a pony nut, but the floor was very interesting.
17.55pm
I got out of the trailer, from watching Dan's interest in sniffing, the sea sick motion of being rocked by a black whale like creature on the outside was worrying me. Dan seemed not to notice. Maybe this is travelling as well as loading practice.
17.58pm The baby monster appeared, oh no, this is Dan practice and Arthur has been loaded twice in his whole life, the first time with great difficulty.
17.59pm Anything Dan is doing Arthur the baby monster wants to try too!
Even when there is not really enough room.
18.00pm now without trying to worry them, this was not what I actually wanted, at this point I had to find a breeze block as the jockey wheel was off the ground, then on the ground and everything was creaking and moving.
Danny, oblivious to my raised pulse, was most accommodating and allowed Arthur to squeeze in next to him.
18.04pm and Arthur thought scraping the floor with his growing plate like hooves was a good way to explore, I was suggesting to Dan that he might be better outside than in, whilst making big shhhhhhhhhh noises at Arthur, please don't fall through the floor Arthur.
The more room Dan gave to Arthur, the more room Arthur had for investigation.
18.05pm
18.05.30pm Dan on terra-firma, and Arthur is free to lick the ramp.
18.06pm Okay Arthur, try not to lift your head too high.
18.08pm Dan, really, I would like you both to come out, please, not back in there.
And somehow my darling boy responded and I managed to shut up their toy box, give them a hug and head for home.
Not quite done as per my training manuals suggest but good enough.
This however is not me asking, discovery learning for ponies has nothing to do with training.
It has no bearing on their willingness to load when fitted with a halter and led by a human. There may be other more interesting things going on that need discovering on days when I will need them to perform.
If Dan and Arthur were the same size as Ellie and Max, I would not worry but my boys weigh a bit, and next time I hope Steve will not have to work and can at least hitch the trailer to the tractor for ballast. xx