Tomorrow Sue comes and we’ll dream up a way to help Zeloso figure out sitting on the bean bag. Meanwhile, back in his stall…the other day when I was practicing backing up and standing against the bean bag Zeloso raised his tail and pooped on the “chair”. It was a second poop, following close on the heels of one he’d created on the stall floor where the bean bag was going to be placed. I removed it when I entered the stall to start our session. I explained that the bean bag was not for pooping and removed the manure balls. I pondered this action of Zeloso and one thought came to mind: he’s figured out that I’m happy when he stands with his hind legs against the bean bag. He’s very much aware of the fact that I’d love to have him do something MORE. His answer to my question: “I’d like something more with you and the bean bag” was to poop. Seemed like a logical conclusion as far as he was concerned.
Zelador caught my attention today. The wind was steady and COLD. I had the two doors leading to the lower barn closed. When I led him from the arena to the barn I stopped to open the north door. He looked at me, turned his head to the door and placed his nose on the door’s latch, then looked at me again. I said, “Yes, Zelador, that’s the latch that opens the barn door.” A few hours later I was shutting the north door from the inside. The handle is a narrow metal or plastic loop. It came off in my hand. (Opps! I’ll have to tell Bill that I broke the barn door!) Then it occurred to me that perhaps Zelador had been able to perceive that the handle was weak and he wanted to draw my attention to it. Stranger things have happened!
