Post by fimacg on Jul 8, 2012 19:28:27 GMT
In a effort to get out more and cheer the grumpy Chompy up H and I decided to take both him and Brave to the local country park for a bit of a blast!
This is only about a 15 minute drive away and we thought it would be a good place to go since I haven't traveled the pair of them since Brave collapsed in the trailer.
Go was no problem Chompy loaded with minimal hesitation and putting Brave on the drivers side seemed to work two very relaxed boys came off the other end.
Had a really nice ride, Chompy however was being a stubborn pig headed mule during the ride, refused to go through any puddle, into the loch or over any bridge (except in reverse) and then it got worse!
Loading to come home he simply refuses to get in the trailer, I know he prefers to be able to see the ramp but following his collapse when he was on the passenger side Brave now doesn't like it.
We try everything, following Brave through, bucket of feed, treats, ice lollies, licks, pressure, no pressure etc. after about 2 hours we decide to try him on the drivers side since Brave travelled so well going there and after a few attempts we get him on. Pop Brave in the other side shut the ramps and get in the car as soon as we switch the ignition on the trailer erupts! rocking so hard side to side and kicking on all four walls, Brave was going down again.
Jump out of the car, open doors and ramps and quick as we can, get Chompy out so we can get to Brave and get him out. Abandon Chompy at a patch of grass and get Brave out. Thank god for travel boots he was unscathed apart from a few scrapes on his hooves where he kicked himself.
Then we try to load Chompy again Another 2 hours later we get him in on the passenger side and re load Brave who apart from a few stomps and a worried look when we closed the front ramp and door was fine and traveled home fine.
BUT 4 ****ing hours to load Chompy. as I said at the start Stubborn, pig headed MULE!
This is only about a 15 minute drive away and we thought it would be a good place to go since I haven't traveled the pair of them since Brave collapsed in the trailer.
Go was no problem Chompy loaded with minimal hesitation and putting Brave on the drivers side seemed to work two very relaxed boys came off the other end.
Had a really nice ride, Chompy however was being a stubborn pig headed mule during the ride, refused to go through any puddle, into the loch or over any bridge (except in reverse) and then it got worse!
Loading to come home he simply refuses to get in the trailer, I know he prefers to be able to see the ramp but following his collapse when he was on the passenger side Brave now doesn't like it.
We try everything, following Brave through, bucket of feed, treats, ice lollies, licks, pressure, no pressure etc. after about 2 hours we decide to try him on the drivers side since Brave travelled so well going there and after a few attempts we get him on. Pop Brave in the other side shut the ramps and get in the car as soon as we switch the ignition on the trailer erupts! rocking so hard side to side and kicking on all four walls, Brave was going down again.
Jump out of the car, open doors and ramps and quick as we can, get Chompy out so we can get to Brave and get him out. Abandon Chompy at a patch of grass and get Brave out. Thank god for travel boots he was unscathed apart from a few scrapes on his hooves where he kicked himself.
Then we try to load Chompy again Another 2 hours later we get him in on the passenger side and re load Brave who apart from a few stomps and a worried look when we closed the front ramp and door was fine and traveled home fine.
BUT 4 ****ing hours to load Chompy. as I said at the start Stubborn, pig headed MULE!
) walk in quite happily and stand there. She panics a bit when you tie her up and panics more if you try to close the ramp, however once she's in she's ok. The thing that worries me though is if she did precisely what Chompy did and refused to load to come home!!! In the past, back when she loaded easily, she loved boxing to the local woods and going for an in-hand trot along to bridleways, but she could sometimes be annoying to load on the way home and might take 3 attempts. Luckily those woods weren't too far away and if she really wouldn't go in the trailer then we could have walked back, but had we gone any further away then we'd have been screwed!!
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for so much hard work we thank ye!!
He's still not an angel but we can do it. The Be Nice helps a lot but not if I put too much pressure on him, then he freaks. He likes to stand on the ramp and have a think. Then I reassure him by massaging his neck a bit, ask gently, rub his face when he makes any forward movement .... and when he's ready he will go in - it usually takes about 15 minutes now.
