A Donkey Diary: Trailer loading session

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Trailer loading session

It's so important to teach trailer loading before you need it! In an emergency, you want to know your animals will load easily and a happy animal is a safer animal too.

So this morning, I decided to hook up the trailer and back it into the barn paddock. Dorica has been through this drill before, but the only time Siog was in a trailer was last November when she left her home on Pender Island.

Dorrie stepping in.

Dorrie's in!

When I brought Deenah home in 2006, it took me 2 hours to load her and since then, she has pretended not to notice a trailer - it isn't a word in her vocabulary! And I have to confess, I haven't used the trailer much, even though I have had the best of intentions.

Today both minis went in and out easily but Deenah wouldn't even consider it. So after some supportive rewards for the minis, I tied them to fence posts and set about teaching Deenah how to load.

This is where clicker training can work miracles! Deenah has been trained to follow a target stick. I haltered Dee and asked her to follow the target and we walked all around the truck and trailer, stopping and starting several times. When we arrived in front of the trailer's open doors, I stepped in and extended the target for Deenah to touch. I didn't ask her to step in yet.

With clicker training, it's important to work in baby steps and not rush things, so I unhooked the lead rope and clicked and rewarded Deenah for staying at the back of the trailer and being interested. Very gradually I held the target stick further inside and she'd crane her neck to touch it. That's just fine.

Eventually she stepped up with her two front feet - click and reward! But I wanted her to feel comfortable and not force her, so when I could see that she wasn't going to step in with her back feet, I snapped on the lead rope and walked her around again.

Back to the doors, step up, step back, click and reward for trying. But now I decided to increase the reward, so I got a big handful of her favorite hay and place it on the trailer floor at the farthest corner. After just a few tries, she stepped in and stood happily munching. Success without any force!

You can see the target stick in the foreground where I left it for the photo.

No comments:

Post a Comment

A Few Great recipes: salves & soaks for hooves and sores, etc.

Homemade Bug Spray:
In a large bowl, mix 1 Cup water, 1 Cup white or apple cider vinegar, 1 Cup Avon Skin So Soft. Add a few drops each Citronella Oil and Eucaplyptus Oil. Mix and pour into a spray bottle. Spray your donkey's coat making sure NOT to get it near their eyes and avoid putting it on any sores as the vinegar makes it sting a bit. This can also be put on a cloth and wiped over the donkey if she hates the spray bottle but I have found that clicker training works well to encourage them to stand still!

Healing Salve:
Steep 1/4 tsp. of golden seal powder + 1 tsp. of calendula (any part) in 1 cup of hot water for 1 hour. Strain and mix the "tea" with 1/8 Cup of aloe vera. Use as a healing salve on scrapes or sores.

Healing Wash:
Steep 1 tsp. calendula (any part) + 1/4 tsp. golden seal + 1 tsp comfrey (any part) in 1 cup of very hot water. Strain "tea" and cool. Pour into glass container and keep in the fridge. Use on a compress or soak for any type of sore or abscess or flush gums with the cooled tea in a syringe. I warm the liquid before using.

Hoof Disinfectant:
Mix together in a large bottle: 1 litre Listerine Mouth Wash (the "original" one) + 10 ml Betadine (tamed iodine)+ 1 Tbs. golden seal powder + 1 Tbs. Gentain powder or root. Fill a squeeze bottle with some and apply to hooves after cleaning them first - white line area and frogs. You can use a toothbrush to work it in. Will cleanse, disinfect and encourage new tissue growth.

Rose

I fell in love with Rose in 2011 when I saw her photo on Asspen Grove Miniature Donkeys' web site. Some times it's just that simple ... smitten and who knows why? Rose's full name is White Star Red Roses.
She is a "big" mini, standing just under the regulation size at 35.25 inches at the withers. Her build is stocky and she has a lovely white blaze on her face! Sadly her tail was bitten during a fight with a horse when she was much younger and never grew back - I may have to get her a tail extension!

Rose was born in Alberta in 1997 and has been trained in halter class and driving. This donkey is without a doubt the kindest animal I have ever met ... not a pushy bone in her, just sweetness.
I feel very lucky to have her join our family!

Heather

Heather is a character! At nine years old, she has had two foals and is a sturdy donkey full of pep. She and Rose have known each other for eight years and traveled here together. They are good buddies. Heather is very sweet but can hold her own too, she is strong and has lovely conformation. She has a lovely broad head, like a sheep!

She is really fun to be with, keen and smart. She loves clicker training and always asks for more. At clinics she is everyone's favourite donkey. Heather and Siog have become buddies as they are just a year apart in age.

Siog

Siog arrived on Friday, November 5, 2010. Her Gaelic name means "young Fairy" and is pronounced "She-OH-g." She came from Pender Island and has the same father as Dorica. Ebony is just as his name suggests, jet black and Siog takes after him. Mom, Sidhe, is a sturdy pure white donkey and Siog's only genetic inheritance from her mom is a splash of white hair, like the milky way, on her forehead.

Siog has been here for two years now and a genuine character! She is very clicker savvy and VERY smart! She can be a bit of a prima dona, thinking the world turns just for her but with clicker training, I can usually change her mood. She LOVES clicker training!

Dorrie

Inis Eile Dorcha (we call her Dorica) was born on Pender Island on the summer solstice,1998. Her Gaelic name means "dark one." She's a Mediterranean miniature donkey, sometimes referred to as a "Sicilian" donkey. We bought her when she was 6 years old and so she has been here the longest and has known Annie, Ringo and Deenah ... a lot of comings and goings!

This little donkey has the sweetest disposition imaginable! She is curious and so willing. She is the donkey of my heart, although I adore all of the others, there's something magical about Dorrie!

Pages

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Trailer loading session

No comments:

Post a Comment