The Kneeling Hinny

Cracker Joe will now get down on one knee for a few seconds at a time. The cue is pulling on the hair on the back of his elbow and lifting his foot. He knows to start rocking back until he gets to having the knee of his bent leg touch the ground. Now he has two things to learn... duration, he has to stay long enough for me to get on him if I want; and he has to learn to just do it from the hair pulling cue. This may really mess up his mind for horseshoeing, but I think we can teach him not to do it too randomly.

Yesterday I was working on his training while he was at liberty in the yard. The donkeys were loose and it wasn't long before Soloman came over to see if he could score a horse cookie. Cracker nipped at him a couple of times. Then he whirled around and kicked... NOT AT SOLOMAN... AT ME!! I went scooting backwards on the slushy yard and landed in a snow drift. I think it was a mistake, but he had to know that kicking at the human is to be avoided at all times, so I lunged him for a little while, turning frequently to mimic the activity of a roundpen. Cracker Joe wants to be a good boy, but sometimes he just can't help himself.

A couple of people have called me about the Assistant Trainer position I have advertised in the Caretakers Gazette. It would sure be nice to have a helper to take photos! And someone to ride with???? Oh, yes!

Yrs,
Patricia