Here's
a picture of Molly's new shelter. This was a very generous Christmas
gift last year from my sister, S. and her boyfriend, J. (I gave them
each...a pair of gloves. *sigh*). Today it happens to be raining
steadily, so I went up to the barn to see if Molly had decided yet to
use the shelter. She hadn't.
I
put her halter on her and walked her into it, until she got the worried
look. We stopped, praised, and petted for a couple of moments and then
backed deliberately out.
I've
tried this a couple of times in good weather, and she has made it all
the way in
and also managed to tolerate my tapping on the fabric sides. Then we
backed out. As far as backing in goes, she eventually got one foot in
and that was good for that day.
Other
winters Molly has made do with only a winter weight blanket. We
wondered what her previous winters in Pennsylvania were like. We wonder
about the rest of her life, too. How she came by all her scars. Why she
hates being in a stall. How her feet got to be so bad. Whether any of
her 20 years were very good or very bad.
Though
I love her and provide for her now, it would really be great if she had
an owner who could get her a larger shelter and work her 3 or 4 times a
week. Also who could get a full set of x-rays taken. Still, I'm always
surprised that she does sometimes learn new things, even when she
clearly doesn't want to at first. She's learned some groundwork tasks
and has learned that even if she refuses my first request while
mounted, she will eventually have to obey.
I
often wonder why she will learn one task and not another. One which I had anticipated would be nearly
impossible turned out to be effortless. When I knew she would be
moving, I was certain she would not load. At all. So I asked an
acquaintance if we could practice with his empty trailer. A few times I
just walked Molly up the ramp, paused, and backed her down. One day I
asked him to stand by when I walked her all the way in. She walked right
in and kept her composure as the trailer creaked and groaned. I
literally could not believe it. He said she trusts me. I wonder about
that a lot.
