Who's in Charge Here, Anyway?

Tex has been a bit different this past week.

He's been subtly trying to get the upper hand.  I've watched him do this with Flash in the pasture.  A little push here, a little nudge there, and pretty soon Tex is herding Flash around.  Tex doesn't make a big bold move; he nibbles at the edges.

And I'm onto him.

It started with him backing away from me, wanting me to come to him.  It didn't work; I just left the pasture and he missed out on treats.  He also started getting cautious about me standing close to him, flinching, and jumping back.  Again, I left.

In the mornings, when I bring him his vitamin bucket, I'm not dumping it in his feed bin.  I'm holding it, or sitting on the edge of the bin with it in front of my feet.  He doesn't like it, but he eventually eats.

(I'm also increasing his dose of Quiessence).

The pulling back and startling is being done with the intent of getting me to move where he wants me to go.  It doesn't work that way.  I move him; he doesn't move me.

I'm sitting in the back of the trailer.  He's not too sure about that.

Sunday we spent a lot of time together.  We practiced approaching the back of the open trailer.

We practiced lining up at the mounting block (on a lead rope, no tack), we practiced standing on the mats at the tie rail -- and he got treats at each place, with some hand grazing under the oaks in between "work" sessions.

By the end of the day, he had given up on flinching or moving me around.

For the moment.