Enter the float

When Gally first arrived on our property he didn't have much trouble getting on the float. He was used to an agle float, so getting off used to be a bit confusing for him. Over time, he became resistive to getting on the float though. What happened?

I thought that maybe I had been driving too fast, so I slowed down. The problem of loading Gally was getting worse. I thought that maybe the old float was too rickety, and he would like the new float better. Not so. Us girls, we're sometimes very good at making silly excuses like that. "Oh it's my driving.  Oh it's the float".

Now my husband and I, can generally get a horse on the float. We've got our methods, which are gentle and sensible enough. But I want a horse that will get on and off the float when I ask him to. I want to be able to get the job done by myself. And since the horse used to get on the float without fuss, I had to admit to myself that I had done the damage there, although I was totally unaware of what, perhaps, I could have done wrong.

Now, I must admit, that the only time I loaded Gally on a float was when I needed to go somewhere. You know. Have a lesson booked early in the morning, should have gotten up at 6, but got up at 6:30. Then had trouble catching the horse, by the time we're near the float I'm exasperated, running late, and my pre-made coffee is getting cold in the car. And then I try to load the horse.

So, I have decided it's time to develop a routine, and practice it when we're not actually going anywhere. My routine goes something like this: attach the float to the car, roll it out and open it up; get the horse and brush him (friendly game) and put boots on him.

Then the training starts with leading him near the float, and standing on the ramp. Cock a leg and relax. Here I look for the horse to put his head down and start sniffing the float. When enough sniffing is done, I try to get both front hooves on the ramp (not the float, just the ramp), pat, relax and back up. When he can do this well, I try and get all four hooves on the ramp, pat, relax and back up. Then it's front hooves in the float, and finally all hooves in the float. If the horse pulls back, he goes straight back on, to his previous position. The only time he is allowed to back up, is when I have asked him to. If the horse refuses to go forwards onto the ramp then I use my carrot stick on his hind quarters - the second he takes a step forward, I stop using the carrot stick and relax.

My first attempt to get Gally on the float takes me about an hour, and leaves me in a lather. But I get him on. Pete is there to witness it. Next time it takes 10 minutes. And by the third time it takes 5 minutes. Then we start to focus on Gally being on the float for increasingly longer amounts of time.
 
After each float loading session I ride Gally, as though it's all just part of our routine.  Albeit a sweaty one at times.