Chewie and I have been exploring a new (potential) training location.
This area is a small paddock that is attached to her pasture. It’s next to the run where we often do our training sessions. The horse who used to live in this run has moved to another barn. So, at least for now, the space is unoccupied.
Chewie has been in this paddock a few times before. But, it’s been a while.
I didn’t think Chewie would have any issues doing training sessions in this location. But, it’s also good to not make assumptions! So, I decided to treat this paddock as if it were a completely new location.
The past two days, Chewie and I have spent a bit of time hanging out in this paddock.
On the first day, I spread out half a dozen buckets and put a handful of hay pellets in each one.
This set up gave Chewie a chance to eat and explore. At the same time, it gave me a chance to observe. What behaviors did Chewie engage in? Did I notice any tension, hesitation, fear, or unhappiness?
Well, Chewie was pretty unfazed about this space! She spent most of the time walking from bucket to bucket, munching on the pellets. She also spent some time exploring and sniffing things.
On Day 2, Chewie got to play with her snuffle mat in the paddock.
Once again, she seemed relaxed in this location. She was focused on the snuffle mat and was not concerned about anything in the surrounding environment.
In the coming days, we will try using this paddock for some of our training sessions.
I like finding training locations that are different from where we usually train, without being more challenging. A new location gives us an opportunity to practice transferring previously-taught behaviors to a new setting.
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