Horses seem to have reactions as varied to the wheelchair as they do many other of the "scary" things in life.
Stephanie has been up to the ranch nearby where I board by TWH, and many of the Arab endurance horses there had huge reactions to the odd device moving through their space, although they're fed from an ATV and a tractor is working around the ranch on many days. We first met Icelandics through our friends the Consiglios who own Tosca's half sister Lina, also a therapy horse for a young lady with a disability. When Stephanie rode Lina, we allowed the horse to approach the chair. This time, we brought Tosca, with her buddy Yrsa, out to the walk where Stephanie was parked. We planted some treats on Stephanie's lap so that Tosca needed to reach down to get them. That was really all I intended to do, but Tosca was so very relaxed that I had Steph drive her chair slowly up and down the walk. Still no reaction, so we let Stephanie hold the lead. Obviously, I was hovering in case everything went bad, but again, Tosca really seemed sensitive to the situation. At that point, I handed Tosca's lead to the young guy who was holding Yrsa and ran for the camera. We went through the routine again, snapped a few photos and called it good. A training record is a great idea, Judy. Since we are waiting to begin until the mud dries, I'll start a photographic record of Tosca's introduction to being a therapy horse. Nancy
