More Trailer Confidence with Z

Another long day at work and I was feeling very tired. I didn't ride today but I wanted to spend a little time building more trailer confidence with Z. Z is great about the trailer - great for loading, great and calm unloading. With another horse on the ride, she's just fine. However, she's never been very confident about trailering alone. She'll load because I've asked her to, but she's obviously wary and I want her to have more confidence about surviving the ride.

This coming weekend I'll be in a clinic for 4 days and Z will have to load and unload every day. Maybe this weekend will be great for getting her more confident about riding alone, but I decided to also spend these days prior to the clinic helping her along. So, I decided to feed her grain in the trailer and some alfalfa. She loaded up fine, I closed the trailer door and then I put her grain and alfalfa in through the window. I did my chores while she feasted in the trailer. Once she was done eating, I could hear her pacing. I decided to go in the trailer through my tack room and sit with her. I wanted to see just how nervous she looked. She was thinking, definitely not panicked, not sweating, not even pawing. But she wanted out. Of course, what horse wouldn't want out.

I decided to sit with her until she decided to stop moving her feet. She kept coming to me and then to the trailer door and then back to me. I had a bucket to sit on and I just watched and waited. She would eat some hay and then go back to the trailer door. Finally, after about 45 minutes, she cocked a leg. Ahhhh! That was when I decided it was time to come out. We'll do that every night this week with her grain and some alfalfa. I want to see an improvement in her attitude about being in the trailer alone. I want her more comfortable when we travel.