We have Manners. We're Polite.

I just recently finished up Season 2 of "Orange is the New Black", the final episode is titled "We have Manners. We're Polite".  It seemed like a very fitting theme for tonight's blog post.

For the horses of Sadie Acres, life is pretty darn good.   They have a cozy brand new barn with large runs, jolly balls and treat balls to entertain them, 10 acres to graze on and enjoy turnout, their stalls are cleaned daily, they all have diets and supplements customized to their exact needs, treats at least twice daily (for my horse friends, we are such huge fans of Probios, the horses love them and they help keep a healthy digestive system), their "work" consists of trail rides in the shady woods and splashing through the river, and they receive a TON of attention each day with grooming and pampering.   So, to put it bluntly, our horses are quite spoiled!  

Now that being said, we have been extremely diligent with keeping a healthy amount of discipline as well.  At 1,000 lbs + you have to set certain guidelines to keep everyone involved safe.   Since we moved them into the barn, Sadie, Penny and Rowdy have been trained that when food comes into their stall they don't receive one bite until they politely take a least one step back and give us room to fill their feeders.  

Similar rules apply when being taken in and out of their stalls.  After some bad habits developed, Sadie, Penny and Rowdy all now know that when their stall doors open they don't make a move out the door until we have secured their halters and we lead them out quietly, same rules apply coming in.  It makes for a much safer and more pleasant experience for everyone involved.   

You'll notice there was one Sadie Acres resident that was left off that list...our mini, Dolly.  We've been guilty of being a bit lax with her, she has so much personality and is so darn cute that it's easy to forget that although she is a mini she still weighs about 350 pounds and it can be a handful keeping control of her!    
Taking her in and out of her stall and leading her anywhere was not quite the quiet, controlled experience we have demanded from the other horses.  Nope, Dolly typically pushes her way out the door, does her famous head toss, then makes a dash to the big pile of hay.   It's hard not to laugh, her big Tina Turner mane bouncing up and down as she trots her dainty little trot to get a HUGE bite of hay before we wrangle her back to where she's supposed to be.    

So, last night I decided it was time to get to work and teach Dolly some manners.  
She is definitely as smart as she is cute, last night we did about 3 laps in the barn focusing on stopping the head toss, the pulling and the fixation on the hay.   I was curious to try a bit more tonight and see how much she remembered.  

Our first attempt was not bad! She was very respectful with my pace and only struggled when she got near the hay.  It was just too tempting for her so we had some head tossing and she struggled a bit to get back focused.

Our second attempt: 

She did so much better this time, even when one of the other horses spooked!

So proud of Dolly and excited to keep working with her to have even better manners and be more polite :)

If Dolly was on OITNB, she would definitely be Crazy Eyes!