Update on Cole

I haven’t posted an update for a while. I had some time off of work, and I no longer have a home computer. Then, when I got to work, it took some time to get everything under control.




Anyway, not much has happened. We worked with Cole in the river, and the first day, he got 2 hooves in. The next day, he got 4 hooves in. The following day, he got a little deeper. The day after that, he decided to cross. When he stepped off the sandy area onto the slate bottom, he got scared and hurried to the other side. Then, he wouldn’t come home. He wouldn’t even follow other horses across.



After a half hour or so, a guy from our barn offered a few well-timed taps with his crop. I was getting desperate, so agreed. It worked. He charged across. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t traumatized, so I turned him around to face the river, again. His head was up and his eyes were big. I walked him to the spot we originally crossed from, and after a few minutes, he got all 4 hooves in, again. At that point, we went home.



He is doing great with the saddle and bridle. We are jiggling the saddle and leaning on his back. He is fine with all of it.



We had some trouble with lounging. He is doing well at a walk, but is reluctant to trot. That is my project of the week. With clicker, I can reward him when he trots, but sometimes, he just wants to take off running and bucking. (Leftovers from his free lounging background.) Last night, I rediscovered my ability to make loud and scary noises. It has been so long since I have had a young horse to work with, I forgot how effective it is. When he tried to bolt, I hung on to the rope and made scary noises. Instead of nearly dragging me, he stopped. I then would restart the lounging and ask for a proper trot. Each time he we went through this, he ended up trotting when I asked the first time, and I was able to click him. Each time, he got better, too. There is hope.



He is doing better on his walks about the property and on the hill. Last night, we targeted a puddle, something I have had trouble with, and eventually, he walked right through it. I am going to do more puddle practice when I have puddles.



We did walk past a water truck parked on the street that was pumping water into a house with the diesel engine running and the pump making noises. He was a dream come true. I know Cruiser would have been worried, and we may not have been able to pass it with Ranger at all. Cole walked by quietly as if it wasn’t there. I think he must have seen a lot of farm equipment.