I must be in some nostaligic/reflective period right now, because I keep going back to read my old posts on Ben. I'm amazed at how much he's changed in such a short time.
One thing, I noticed in my old posts, were my comments regarding his sensitivity to loud noises. Looking back, this was a big issue for Ben.
And just now it dawned on me, the last time I rode Ben, I believe it was last week or the week before, we rode together in the arena with 2 others while our neighbors took their dirt bikes and raced them up and down their property. There were 2 bikes at least - they were loud, noisy, vibrating and zooming up and down their long driveway - out of sight behind the trees, but very, very loud only about ~30 feet away. Ben definitely noticed as I did feel him tense and speed up once or twice, but he wasn't really reactive or spooky- not like he was during his first few months at the barn. If anything, seemed more concerned with trying to get close to his 2 horsey friends in the arena than with the noise.
It is very interesting how things have changed. I haven't focused on desensitizing Ben to random noises. I think over time, he has gotten used to the neighbor's shenanigans, so in a way, they did all the work for me. Thanks, guys! LOL.
I just wanted to say that I love reading about Ben! What made me start reading your blog is the fact that you adopted him from a Canadian rescue, being Canadian myself and having a sister who also adopted from a rescue, that caught my interest. I think it's great what you're doing with him. And I love learning more about Standardbreds. I'll admit my knowledge about them are very limited.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading more about your progress with Ben! And he is beautiful! I caught up on your blog tonight and your recent pictures of him have him looking more grown up then your first pictures of him, he still looked like a baby!