Driving Lessons

[Sanhestar]

I would venture out from the paddock again, as soon as you and Koby are more proficient. I have in former times also advertised to take the goat out with a trailer into unfamiliar terrain but this was under the aspect of "teaching" them to stick to the humans.

Looking back I realize now how cruel this is to the goat: not only out alone with the human but also out alone in unfamiliar territory. Of course, it will stick around. the human being the only (!) familiar element in all this. The underlying stress must be for some goats enormous.

I have similar problems with my ponies when I go out with one alone. Depending on the character, day and MY mental state (I suffer anxiety attacks with the ponies, interestingly not with the goats), we would come between 50 and 200 metres away from home before either my or the ponies anxiety would kick in.

Maybe feeling this anxious about nothing, this will just start from the smallest the pony does, like looking more intense at something or speeding up a little, made me more appriatice towards how the prey animals feel.

Anyhow: before I accepted that I cannot push the issue, our walks outside were a constant source of anxiety and frustration. After I accepted my and the pony's boundaries and worked within the distance from home in which we both still are comfortable to have fun with each other, both anxiety and frustration went away. AND ..... with every fun walk we could push the distance made a bit farther out.

I will turn around as soon as either I get the "knot in stomach" or the pony shows signs of stress/anxiety which can range from speeding up, freezing or pushing against me (depending on which pony, they all communicate their anxiety differently). Walk back to a distance at which we both feel fine again, stay there a bit, turn around again, ask to follow me again, turn around, if necessary. With this zigzag we can a) practise walking away from home and b) walking back towards home calmly and c) waiting in between calmly and d) eating on signal and e) stop eating on signal and many things in between.........