We've had a couple of really good days of riding, and hopefully another tomorrow. I got this idea that I wanted to maybe take Tonka to the fair, just to get him used to the craziness. The show we went to that was going on as we did the trail "classic" was pretty mellow. Then I thought, "Why can't we do the walk/trot class?" But it turns out that was a dumb idea. If we'd been getting ready even as little as a week ago, maybe, but not now. He doesn't consistently trot when I ask him to in an area he's worried about, and he breaks gait when he's scared. Plus who knows how other people's horses are going to be behaving and I don't want him to get run into or otherwise have a bad experience. So I'm going to take him to the fair tomorrow and just hang out.
Yesterday I hauled him and Soxy over to my sister's because Katia wanted to ride too. That mare! She loads just beautifully, but when it comes time to get out she panics! I forgot about this and opened the divider while she was still tied, and she panicked and shot out backwards, stretching her probably loosely tied halter until the chin part was in her mouth. Finally I got her to go forward, shut the divider and cut the halter off, put another on and got her out. Thankfully she wasn't hurt, except maybe a sore poll from the halter, but that's her own darn fault. Tonka was worried! He hasn't had a bad trailer experience, and that freaked him out. He was fidgety when unloading and loading later to go home.
Tonka did well trotting around the little outdoor arena at my sister's house. Unloaded at home in pitch black with a minor setback because of Soxy's earlier behavior. He was too fidgety so I shut him back in and left him, then went back to unload and he was fine. He really is a great trailer horse all around.
Today we went over there again, but rode in the outdoor arena at their boarding stable across the highway. He was a peach, but afraid of one of the dogs and a couple areas around the arena.
He loaded and unloaded beautifully, telling me that the worry from yesterday is now not so prominent in his mind.
He makes me so happy.
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