Cole Training

Cole made it down the trail! Friday evening, I decided to try to cross the street and get to the start of the trail. Remember, last week, he was afraid to even step onto the paved surface of the street. He went right across. At the trailhead, he was a little nervous about the posts that keep cars off the trail that he had to walk through, but my work with the forward command got him through. We only went a few minutes, then we turned back to come home.


I figured out why I have been having trouble getting him through one of the barn doors to get to his stall. I feel so stupid that I didn’t notice this right away. As he would step through the door, the mare in the corner stall was laying her ears back and baring he teeth. She was what made him nervous. He only stalled out once this weekend at the door, though. That was when she charged at him.


Saturday, we led him all the way down the hill that leads to the river. Of course, we aren’t attempting the river itself for a while. Sunday, we did the hill twice. When I wanted to turn him around to start the second trip, he got very balky. We worked through it the very way I did with going through the barn door. We were successful, but I had to be patient and persistent. Finally, he gave up and walked down the hill.


We have also been practicing standing still and lifting feet. Standing was very hard for him, at first. He just wants to be with me every moment and didn’t like me stepping away. That is when I figured out the wither rubbing trick. I stepped away for a few seconds, and if he didn’t step forward, I came back and rubbed his withers. If he did step forward, I backed him back in place. He has also gotten very good at backing!


I have been doing clicker targeting, and I believe he is starting to understand clicker. It only took Mingo 1 lesson. He touches the target, hears the click and gets the treat. He just doesn’t realize what the click means.