So Proud of Zeppelin

After I got back from taking Chrome for a walk I fed them and then went to fill their water. While I was waiting on the water I noticed Zep was harassing Chrome through the fence while he was eating, so I walked over with the intention of just shooing him out of the barn.

As I approached he turned to watch me so instead I sat on my heels and leaned against a tree right near the barn. Then I dug the rest of my treats out of my pocket and put them in my lap. As soon as I held my hand out with a treat Zeppelin walked over to me. He was hesitant at first but it only took him a second to take the treat. So I started dropping treats one by one into my left hand, propped on my knee and was petting him with my right hand as he ate each treat. After three treats he stopped moving away and wasn't at all bothered by me petting his face.

When I ran out of treats he sniffed my hands, knees and face, then he smelled my breath (horses greet each other by breathing into the others nostrils). I just sat there and let him investigate. After a minute he started licking my hands, which probably tasted like the peppermint treats lol. He stood licking the palms of both of my hands for two or three minutes and was completely content to continue doing so if the water hadn't started to overflow and I had to go turn it off. I'm so proud of him! He's getting more and more confident. I really think this year will be our year. I got a new book called Clicker Training Colt Starting the Natural Horse by Leslie Pavlich and it talks about handling horses who have never been touched. It's giving me a lot to think about with Zeppelin and helping me decide how to proceed. :) I'm excited to start working with him. :)

Be sure to check out Chrome's blog to see how he did with his training tonight. I finally took the clicker with us on our walk!