Two Steps Forward, One Giant Jump Back

To say we’ve had a bit of a setback would be an understatement.

Over the past few weeks, Kurt has been doing a good job of coaxing Guillermo, his horse, into the trailer.  At first, Guillermo resisted it.  This was surprising given that he is bomb-proof on the trail and had already travelled to Maryland from California.  But resist Guillermo did (in the form and highspeed backing) and persist Kurt did (with unexpected patience).

In time, Guillermo came around and was willingly taking his meals in the white box on wheels.  Unfortunately, Kurt has been in Oregon the past few weekends.  So, the first two trailer rides to horse parks were executed with my friend Barbara riding Izzy.  This weekend was Kurt and my first chance to go out with the trailer.  And, it was the first time we were transporting the two horses we plan to take on the trip.

Loading went well.  There was a bit of stomping when we first got rolling, but that seemed to quiet quickly.  I’d picked a trail system accessed by a trailer-friendly parking area that is a scant five miles from our farm.  Barbara and I had brought Juneau and Izzy here the weekend before and had an amazing ride. 

A path winds through the woods depositing you on an absolutely beautiful carriage trail that meanders along a lively stream.  There are three bridges; the longest crosses some pretty loud rapids.  There are folks walking with kids and dogs along the carriage trail. But, there are also empty stretches that make for amazing, slow canters.  Side trails climb up the wooded slopes giving a chance for travel over rougher terrain and encounters with mountain bikers. 

When Kurt and I arrived after the short drive, the horses weren’t sweaty; unloaded calmly; stood still while we tacked up.  The ride was flawless.  Juneau led across each of the bridges without hesitation.  Guillermo led boldly on the rugged forest trails, which he usually is hesitant to do.  Juneau seemed to finally understand that the bike-human hybrid is an ugly but not a menacing creature; so, we had no bike-horse explosions.

Back at the trailer, we untacked and let the boys graze for a bit (picture).  I put Juneau in the trailer and then Kurt loaded ….  But no, Guillermo wasn’t advancing up the ramp.  We waited.  Nope, he wasn’t going to choose loading over boredom.  We tried bribery.  No, treats weren’t going to get him up that ramp.  Kurt pulled and I pushed.  I pulled and Kurt pushed.  Juneau – locked in his berth – screamed.  Observers in the parking lot told their children, “See, this is why Santa isn’t bringing you a pony.”  Thirty minutes in, the only thing that had advanced was Juneau’s anxiety about all the stuff going on behind him that he couldn’t turn around and see.

We decided to cut our losses.  Kurt saddled Guillermo.  I closed all the doors on my now very upset horse.  Kurt rode -not into the sunset- but into the gaping maw of weekend traffic.  Kids in the backseats of SUVs dropped juice boxes at the sight of a cowboy riding a horse down the side of a very busy Maryland road.  And Juneau sang an aria worthy of Pavarotti all the way home. 

And now, we start the whole loading training process over with both Juneau and Guillermo taking their meals on wheels.