Yesterday was... interesting.
LOL.
The goats managed to get on top of their Quonset hut and use it as a trampoline so I had to prop it up with posts. I totally expected it would happen sooner or later, and I laughed so hard I felt light headed. I didn't get any video, because I was afraid they were going to try and go over the fence but now I wish I had. lol.
I was starting to wonder if my goats had any trouble making in them or not. A goat without a wide streak of "troublemaker" just isn't a REAL goat, you know? lol. Of course it was HRH Thyme, Goat Queen of PhoenixDown Farm, who started it. Once the hut was back up she spent an hour trying to fling herself back up on top of it and failing. Then she started to attack all the other goats and the fence in frustration. Then she angrily threw herself down and started to chew her cud with a ticked off look on her face, haha.
So, I decided this was a good sign that I should run the electric on the fence. I got it done. The fencer doesn't pack much punch but every single one of them has tried to chew the wire so they now have some respect for the fence. So if they do manage to get on to the top of their hut I HOPE that will keep them from trying to go over the fence. HOPING but not counting on it. lol. Because, you know, they are GOATS.
I hope to take them out for a while today for some browse time. They free ranged at the breeders and stayed close to home, and I will be playing goatherd not just letting them go unsupervised but I am not used to having animals just running loose unless they are cats, lol. As a precautionary measure I am filling my pocket with Ziploc baggies full of marshmallows and stale froot loops. *big grin* I need a shepherds crook or something, to better look the part. And to help catch them if they go rogue.
Anyway, On to the superstar. Yesterday Katherine came to trim the Knucklehead. *gets all dreamy eyed about her handsome horsie* Last time he was a total prat. snatching his foot away, doing what for him counts as rearing up, other such foolishness like kneeling down while she trims his front feet. I've been working with him on that since and he has been pretty good, but of course the day of the trim he starts kneeling again. *rolls eyes*
Anyway, I decided to work him before she got there. Basic ground work taking control of his feet. Now he is notoriously dense about this stuff and so I wasn't expecting much, I just kind of wanted him too tired to be annoying while he got his feet done. Well, someone has been doing his home work over the winter because he did fan-FREAKIN-tastic.
Yield the hind quarters, check. Yield the forequarters, check. Back, got it. Forward, that too. Side pass? OK, not sure what that is all about but will try... Might move the front a step then the back a step but the concept seemed to be sinking in. walk, trot and whoa on the line. got it. Directional changes on the line? Why yes, I know what you want me to do. I may not be reliable turning toward my left but I know what you want, I just don't want to do it... but if you demand I will do it with a pouty face.
And he was a real champ at trimming time. Katherine brought some vet wrap to wee if it might work to keep the hair out of the way and that worked fine. Makes her job easier. He was super for two feet, good for a third, and just a little fussy about the last one. so the work right before the trim seems to be a good plan.
He really was SUCH a good boy.
One thing though... I changed the way I was doing a few things after watching some videos online, and I think this works better for him than what I was doing before. This lady does a lot of things the way I do anyway, but I have tried not being so vocal because almost every trainer I know says not to blahblahblah the whole time. This lady is very vocal and is constantly going "good boy, that's a good boy!" and rewarding with lots of petting and rubbing. Which feels really natural to me but I have kind of suppressed it because so often trainers say all that noise and chatter just distracts and confuses the horse. But Brego seemed to just love it and it made things easy for me because I was able to just respond with my own instincts. It almost entirely solved the issue I have had in the past with timing.
At any rate, i was mega please, especially since for most of the work time Tsu was dragging the drive right next to my work area, and Brego would get a little distracted but would go right back to focused on me!
(his feather was MUCH cleaner than this for the trimmer, lol)
