After a long trip on a short weekend I was so tired I actually debated whether or not to ride today. I changed clothes and got ready to go and then laid down to take a 30 minute nap! But after the timer went off, I got my rear in gear and went out to see the horses. Super nice sunshine and mild temperatures win over naps any day!

I decided to try an experiment and see if Flyboy would trailer nicely (i. e. safely!) by himself to the arena. He loaded into the trailer like a pro--no hesitation. He was nervous after the slant panel was closed but I hopped in the truck and drove off before he could think too much about the fact that Keno was still lazing in the sunshine in the corral.

I parked next to my friend Tammy's outfit to unload down by the southwest roping arena. I unhooked Fly's lead rope from the blocker ring before opening the trailer which was a good thing because he flew out backwards slamming me pretty good between the slant panel and the trailer wall! He definitely had a panic problem again. Sigh. Double sigh. I spent the next 20 minutes loading and unloading him and working with him on the ground. He loads fine, but is obviously stressed and uncomfortable inside. I can understand his claustrophobia--I deal with some of those feelings myself with certain things, but I don't know how to help him relax and realize he's OK. It's a real fear. I have done lots of rubbing, praising, treats, encouragement of all kinds, but he still has the fear. Ideas out there, anyone? I am actually going to have a local fix-it guy look at my slant panel and see if he can modify it for me. It is a solid wall-type panel, but I have seen some that are more open--vertical bars on the top part or even grid wall like in the photo above. Maybe if Flyboy could see behind himself easier it would help him relax.

Anyway, by this time Tammy had finished riding her horse so we turned both horse loose to run. They ran and rolled and checked out the calf chute. They were fun to watch. Eventually Tammy and Toby headed home and although I had pretty much decided I was too tired to ride, I saddled up anyway. Thank goodness I did, because we had a great ride. Fly was super soft and forward. He really felt so good! He is ready to start putting in some miles and conditioning for some distance. We worked hard for about 30 minutes mostly at the trot and canter.

I left the slant panel open to trailer him home to reduce his stress level--not too sure it really helps, but maybe.
I love so many things about Fly. I want him to learn to trailer easily--we have so many fun things to do, but trailering safely and easily is a must! We'll just keep working on it.