Chat
04-21-2018, 08:09 AM
Anti-climactic is usually the best outcome. Phil and I always hope for "uneventful" when we take new big step in our training. And I agree that animals understand things like the difference between you riding in the cart and just driving behind it. Suddenly they get "why". Sputnik had the same deal with the packsaddle. He was terrified of it until I finally just strapped it on there and let him walk around. Now that he knows I put things in it to carry, he looks forward to his very important job when we go hiking. Sputnik was also afraid of the cart until I started riding in it. Then suddenly it was like, "Oh yeah, this is what you're up to! I get it!"
Animals are smart. Both Finn and Sputnik learned "whoa" best when I started having them haul water to their pens. They realized almost immediately that it was important for them to stand still so I could fill, load, and unload the water jugs. They could see that my hands were busy and couldn't hang onto their reins, so they learned to keep themselves still while I handled the water jugs. After the first couple of times, they knew where the water was supposed to go, so I didn't have to do so much steering. I could instead concentrate on steadying the sled. We've had almost no snow this winter so it's been over a year since the boys had to haul water. I wonder how they will behave when we do it again?
Animals are smart. Both Finn and Sputnik learned "whoa" best when I started having them haul water to their pens. They realized almost immediately that it was important for them to stand still so I could fill, load, and unload the water jugs. They could see that my hands were busy and couldn't hang onto their reins, so they learned to keep themselves still while I handled the water jugs. After the first couple of times, they knew where the water was supposed to go, so I didn't have to do so much steering. I could instead concentrate on steadying the sled. We've had almost no snow this winter so it's been over a year since the boys had to haul water. I wonder how they will behave when we do it again?