I know that Zum gets bored and stressed when I don’t handle him everyday. He needs daily grooming, training, exercise and fun! Not doing anything with Zum is worse than doing something and making a mistake. Mistakes are opportunities for me to try again! So I am teaching Zum lots of tricks! I am teaching him to walk on a tarp, stop and then back up. A tarp is very scary for horses. It blows around like a plastic bag and it makes noises when it is touched. I am showing Zum that he can be brave standing on a tarp. I also put the tarp all over his body and even drape it on his back. I am teaching him to walk on a wooden platform and stop. I am teaching him to drop his head and touch orange cones with his nose. I tied a plastic bag at the end of a long whip. I wave the plastic bag in the air and around his feet, asking him to be calm. I put shipping boots on and off all his legs. I even put a shipping hat on his head, which he didn’t like at first! I am showing him how to walk in and out of a stock trailer. When he gets nervous, I have him do something that he loves to do and praise him for what he can do. Every lesson ends with him doing what he can do so he feels good about himself. He is learning that he can trust me to do what I ask him. My praise reinforces his feeling that I am not a threat. He wants me to be proud of him!
