Gia - session 77 - Frist time traveling to CDP stables and first time on the hot walker!

Gia had a special session today.  Every Tuesday I head down to Vass, NC to have a lesson on my competition horse Butch with Charlie Plumb at CDP Stables.  I had been waiting for a Tuesday when I had a little more time, to take Gia with me for a field trip off the property.  Any chance that I can use to get her off the property and have new experiences will give her more confidence for when she will eventually go to competitions.  I wanted to keep it very simple and easy, and it really was. 

She hesitated a little when I asked her to get on the trailer this morning.  She never refused, she just wanted to take a little time to check it out.  She has been on both a large trailer and a smaller, 2 horse trailer.  However, this was a new 2 horse trailer that she had not been on before. ( I had to upgrade from my older, smaller trailer since Gia was too big for it!)  I have no problem letting her take her time to check things out, so it took about an extra 5 minutes to load her this morning.  She traveled just fine for the hour and a half to CDP Stables.  Once there, she got off very quietly and walked through the barn nervously but obediently.  Hayley took her over and led her to the hot walker.  She was super, walking with Hayley, and didn't really hesitate at all walking into the hot walker.  She hung out, walking around in circles, while I had my lesson on Butch.  She was nervous at first, but she eventually calmed down and relaxed, once she understood what was going on.

Once we were ready to go home, she walked back to the trailer a little less nervously, and hesitated a little less as I asked her to get on the trailer again.  She was getting impatient by the time we were almost home, and I felt her pawing whenever we stopped at lights.  Once home, she was pretty quiet, so I unloaded her and turned her out.  If she had been pawing when we got home, I would have let her stay on the trailer, until she had calmed down, before unloading her.  I wouldn't want to reward her bad behavior by allowing her to get what she wanted - off the trailer.  All in all, it was a pretty good experience for Gia, and I will definitely be taking her back down again whenever I get the chance!

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