Chat
01-28-2017, 07:57 PM
Phil is out of town this weekend and the weather finally warmed up a bit so it was the perfect opportunity for me to take Finn out for our first one-on-on drive away from home. It went really well. First off, Finn did not run away and hide when he saw me loading the cart. In fact, he came over and stood by the truck with an interested expression on his face. When I approached him with the halter he did not turn and walk off. This is a massive improvement! He leaped eagerly into the truck and wagged his tail. His expression became worried, however, when he realized that his buddy Sputnik wouldn't be with us. He baa-aa-ed quite a bit as we went down the driveway, but he soon settled. It's been a long time since Finn has gone anywhere without Sputnik and he needs practice. Finn used to LOVE it when Phil would take him for a solo hike, but unfortunately Phil got out of the habit and Finn forgot how much fun it was.
Finn was very good for harnessing and hitching. I didn't tie him up but I dropped his lead on the ground and told him "whoa." He stood very still while I was fastening things, but every time I walked back to the cab to bring out another piece of harness Finn would take 2-3 steps forward and stand with his head by the truck bed. It took me a few minutes to realize what he was doing. He was going to his customary spot! We usually tie our goats while we harness, so Finn isn't used to standing so far from the truck. I backed him up to his original spot each time and told him "whoa" again. By the time I brought up the cart he was already improving. He never moved while I hitched him up. Good boy!
We were in our customary driving location, which is an almost perfectly level one-mile loop of paved, quiet road at the golf course. It's an excellent, spookum-free place to practice driving. It's also the place where Finn and Phil got into their big fight a few weeks ago. I decided we should confront that bad memory first thing. We went the same direction Phil had gone when he tried to take Finn away from Sputnik and the truck. But to start off on the right foot, I led Finn about 50 feet from the truck so we were out of the parking lot and onto the road before I dropped back and drove from beside the cart. Finn immediately tried to turn back around to the left, but I was ready for him and was able to keep his head straight and keep him moving forward with just a light whip tap on his left hip and a stern voice command to "walk on!" Shortly after that I was able to get in the cart. Finn tried one or two more feeble attempts at going back, but by then he knew who was in charge so there were no problems.
When I teach riding lessons I always say that preventing your horse from doing the wrong thing is ten times easier than correcting him after he already did it. Finn didn't stop and turn back for me because I could see the tiny hesitation before he actually stopped, and I gave the "walk on" command and a tap on the hip strap right that instant. While Finn was still thinking about changing his mind, I made it up for him with a light but confidently placed aid. I think what's been happening with Phil is that he's not yet sure of his own aids, and he doesn't want to cue Finn to move forward if Finn is already moving. So he misses that critical hesitation point where a bit of light encouragement is enough to keep the momentum. When Finn thinks about stopping and then gets away with it, his hesitation becomes self-rewarding. Once Finn stops, getting him to start again takes a much stronger voice command and whip cue, and there's a good chance Finn will resent it and rebel by turning around or backing up instead. Then there's a fight.
It didn't take us long to pass by all of Finn's "meltdown" spots from last time. He hesitated at them, but I didn't let him stop and work himself up over them, so he soon began going confidently. We walked, we trotted, and I got out and drove from beside the cart a few times to give him a break for being good. I can't say Finn was thrilled about this drive, but he wasn't upset about it either. He took cookies (not as enthusiastically as I'd like--he was pouting a bit), but he never outright sulked or got angry. The biggest issue we worked on was standing still while I got in and out of the cart. It's that old "whoa" problem again where Finn stops wonderfully, but then he wants to move off again as soon as he's had his treat. So we did a lot of starting and stopping while I got in and out of the cart. Finn was wearing a halter so there were a few tug-of-wars at first when he leaned all his weight into the halter and trotted off with me leaning back on the reins and pulling for all I was worth (he's a strong boy!). I fixed this by making him back up to his original spot each time. He didn't like backing up, so the lesson was quickly learned. Once stopped, I'd give him a cookie and make him wait. If he took off again, he had to back up again. After a few repetitions he stopped leaning on the halter, and shortly after that he began to wait while I got in and out of the cart several times. By the last 1/4 mile Finn was waiting patiently for my "walk on" command almost every time.
Toward the end of the drive, I took Finn up a little side road thinking it might be a challenge for him since we were almost back to the truck. But to my delight, he never hesitated. I drove him a short way up it, got out and rewarded him, then led him for a while as a reward. Once we were back at the parking lot, I had Finn turn off on another side road, and he was slightly more balky this time, but not bad at all. I drove him a short way, got out, rewarded, and led him back to the truck. Once we were at the truck I got back in the cart and drove him around it twice. He wasn't particularly pleased at first (he was convinced I wanted him to go round the golf course again), but even though he didn't feel like going out a second time, he was obedient about it. Once he realized we were only going around the truck his attitude improved considerably and he perked right up for a happy ending. One thing I found encouraging was that even though Finn didn't want to go round the golf course again (after all, it was almost suppertime!), he was better behaved about it and had a nicer attitude than he'd had when we started out the first time. This is a good indication that our drive was not nearly as miserable for him as he thought it would be. He was ready to go home, but he didn't dread the prospect of going out for a second jaunt. I'm very encouraged, and I think Finn is going to be happier and more confident on our next outing. It's supposed to be nice weather this week, so hopefully I'll have at least one day to follow up with another drive.
Finn was very good for harnessing and hitching. I didn't tie him up but I dropped his lead on the ground and told him "whoa." He stood very still while I was fastening things, but every time I walked back to the cab to bring out another piece of harness Finn would take 2-3 steps forward and stand with his head by the truck bed. It took me a few minutes to realize what he was doing. He was going to his customary spot! We usually tie our goats while we harness, so Finn isn't used to standing so far from the truck. I backed him up to his original spot each time and told him "whoa" again. By the time I brought up the cart he was already improving. He never moved while I hitched him up. Good boy!
We were in our customary driving location, which is an almost perfectly level one-mile loop of paved, quiet road at the golf course. It's an excellent, spookum-free place to practice driving. It's also the place where Finn and Phil got into their big fight a few weeks ago. I decided we should confront that bad memory first thing. We went the same direction Phil had gone when he tried to take Finn away from Sputnik and the truck. But to start off on the right foot, I led Finn about 50 feet from the truck so we were out of the parking lot and onto the road before I dropped back and drove from beside the cart. Finn immediately tried to turn back around to the left, but I was ready for him and was able to keep his head straight and keep him moving forward with just a light whip tap on his left hip and a stern voice command to "walk on!" Shortly after that I was able to get in the cart. Finn tried one or two more feeble attempts at going back, but by then he knew who was in charge so there were no problems.
When I teach riding lessons I always say that preventing your horse from doing the wrong thing is ten times easier than correcting him after he already did it. Finn didn't stop and turn back for me because I could see the tiny hesitation before he actually stopped, and I gave the "walk on" command and a tap on the hip strap right that instant. While Finn was still thinking about changing his mind, I made it up for him with a light but confidently placed aid. I think what's been happening with Phil is that he's not yet sure of his own aids, and he doesn't want to cue Finn to move forward if Finn is already moving. So he misses that critical hesitation point where a bit of light encouragement is enough to keep the momentum. When Finn thinks about stopping and then gets away with it, his hesitation becomes self-rewarding. Once Finn stops, getting him to start again takes a much stronger voice command and whip cue, and there's a good chance Finn will resent it and rebel by turning around or backing up instead. Then there's a fight.
It didn't take us long to pass by all of Finn's "meltdown" spots from last time. He hesitated at them, but I didn't let him stop and work himself up over them, so he soon began going confidently. We walked, we trotted, and I got out and drove from beside the cart a few times to give him a break for being good. I can't say Finn was thrilled about this drive, but he wasn't upset about it either. He took cookies (not as enthusiastically as I'd like--he was pouting a bit), but he never outright sulked or got angry. The biggest issue we worked on was standing still while I got in and out of the cart. It's that old "whoa" problem again where Finn stops wonderfully, but then he wants to move off again as soon as he's had his treat. So we did a lot of starting and stopping while I got in and out of the cart. Finn was wearing a halter so there were a few tug-of-wars at first when he leaned all his weight into the halter and trotted off with me leaning back on the reins and pulling for all I was worth (he's a strong boy!). I fixed this by making him back up to his original spot each time. He didn't like backing up, so the lesson was quickly learned. Once stopped, I'd give him a cookie and make him wait. If he took off again, he had to back up again. After a few repetitions he stopped leaning on the halter, and shortly after that he began to wait while I got in and out of the cart several times. By the last 1/4 mile Finn was waiting patiently for my "walk on" command almost every time.
Toward the end of the drive, I took Finn up a little side road thinking it might be a challenge for him since we were almost back to the truck. But to my delight, he never hesitated. I drove him a short way up it, got out and rewarded him, then led him for a while as a reward. Once we were back at the parking lot, I had Finn turn off on another side road, and he was slightly more balky this time, but not bad at all. I drove him a short way, got out, rewarded, and led him back to the truck. Once we were at the truck I got back in the cart and drove him around it twice. He wasn't particularly pleased at first (he was convinced I wanted him to go round the golf course again), but even though he didn't feel like going out a second time, he was obedient about it. Once he realized we were only going around the truck his attitude improved considerably and he perked right up for a happy ending. One thing I found encouraging was that even though Finn didn't want to go round the golf course again (after all, it was almost suppertime!), he was better behaved about it and had a nicer attitude than he'd had when we started out the first time. This is a good indication that our drive was not nearly as miserable for him as he thought it would be. He was ready to go home, but he didn't dread the prospect of going out for a second jaunt. I'm very encouraged, and I think Finn is going to be happier and more confident on our next outing. It's supposed to be nice weather this week, so hopefully I'll have at least one day to follow up with another drive.