Gia - session 19 - Show time!

Well, not exactly ☺.  I took a few students to a local hunter show yesterday, and since I had room in the trailer, I let Gia tag along.  She's done this a few times before, but she seemed more nervous about it this time.  She loaded on the trailer just fine, but was quite nervous when I latched the divider.  She likes to "piaffe" in the trailer when she's nervous.  Maybe she'll make a great dressage horse one day!  Anyway, once we got moving, she traveled fine.  She stayed on the trailer when we first got to the show, while the kids got to ride.  She was pretty quiet for that duration.  When it was her turn, I pulled her off, tied her to the trailer, groomed her, and took her up to the warm-up ring to lunge her.  She was very good for all that.  She was a little nervous and looky as we walked to the warm-up ring, but not too bad.  I kept it very simple - just lunging in each direction until she dropped her head, focused on me, and "licked and chewed".  It took her a little while, at first, because there was so much to look at.  But, after a few times around, she was paying more attention to me than the rest of the world.  She seemed much more relaxed and OK with the situation.  She still had very loose stools when she got back on the trailer though - a typical sign of stress and anxiety in horses.  That's fairly normal for young horses that haven't been many places (hence why I am taking her whenever I get a chance).  That should go away as she gets more comfortable traveling.  As big as she is, she might also feel cramped in the trailer, so I am also looking in to ways to give her a little more room.  Maybe that will make a bit of difference next time.  She did get off the trailer very politely, both at the show, and when we got back home.  When I taught her how to load, back when she was a yearling, I also taught her how to unload, politely, without rushing out.  It seems that lesson has really stuck with her ☺.