Day 53

Today was another ground work day for Marley.  I was up bright and early before anyone was at the barn, except the guys who were feeding, and used the time to do some training in the barn with Marley.  The aisle in the barn is particularly narrow, mostly because everyone has piles of tack trunks and miscellaneous stuff outside each of their horses stalls, and Marley feels really claustrophobic in there.  I brought the clicker into the barn with us though and we did some target training and worked on a few of his tricks until he didn't pay any attention to where he was standing.  Marley get's so excited about clicker training, and bringing something really familiar and positive for him into the barn really helped him relax and realize that nothing in there was going to get him.

Photo by Katherine Payne Photography

I also worked Marley lightly in the round pen and he was very good.  He is starting to really understand the routine and what I am asking of him.  He has also gained a substantial amount of muscle, which must be where all of the calories are going because I swear that horse eats non-stop!  He has a long way to go still though, but it is nice to see a physical change in Marley. 

It's going to be a busy busy week, but I'm looking forward to a great payoff come Friday when we get to head down to Abbe Ranch for a whole new adventure!   I'm a little nervous, but I know it's going to be a great learning experience for Marley and I.  We're counting down the days!