Day 19 and 20-Trimming, trailering and a swollen pastern!

Well it's been awhile since I've updated! Right after Christmas I was able to get her loading in the trailer and we gave her a little hoof trim right before we took off on vacation. Yesterday we got back and to my dismay...she was pretty sore on her back right. It's swollen and she is favoring it a bit. She can still put weight on it, but it is clear that it bothers her in the walk and trot. Needless to say, the training is going to be slowed way down until I can see that she's better. I took her out and ran the hose over it for 20 minutes (this was also her first hosing, so it did her good desensitizing her to it!).

The back right is swollen on the pastern

I am wondering how this happened and hoping it isn't serious, but I am pretty sure she slipped in her pen. We have been getting some weather up here in King's River, and her pen has turned pretty mucky. It may also have something to do with getting her first trim- however Chad didn't take a lot off the backs...it may have leveled it to an angle she's not used to and influenced her balance. I'll keep a close eye on it for the next few days. If it gets worse, I may have to take her to the vet (good thing I got her loading!)

And how did the loading go? Well, it went surprisingly well. I spent two days approaching and retreating. First I get her going real good over this little ply wood bridge that I made. I get her to go up and back off. Then I put the bridge in front of the trailer and get her going all around the trailer and over the bridge next to the trailer. The bridge gets her used to that hollow noise you get when you are in the trailer, and it also gets her using the thinking side of her brain. Also, it's closer to the ground than the trailer so it is easier to learn how to back off an edge (Have you ever seen a horse that wouldn't back out? They think it's the edge of the universe coming out of the trailer!) Once they get confident at this, then I start actually bringing her up to the trailer, letting her investigate and then backing away. I do this about 100 times. Then I ask her to put one foot in the trailer and back out. I do this 100 times. Then I ask her to put 2 feet in and back out 100 times until I can get her whole self in and it's not a big deal. She feels comfortable because I have let her build her confidence. I love loading horses because every horse is different and I enjoy the challenge. It really tests not only the horse, but the handler because it takes a good deal of timing and experience to do it well and it's something I always try to get really good. I want my horses to back out well, because you never know what kind of trailer the next person will have.

Here's a picture of the rear of my two horse straight load and my bridge in front

And the trim? It went pretty well. She was at first terrified of Chad because she had never had another person really handle her. Chad was pretty good though, and she settled down and gave him her feet. I wish I had pictures, because he handled her very well. It's important that she learns to act well not just around me, but other people as well. This was a hard concept for Sophie, but we worked through it.