Christmas ponies, part two

Last week, I tried to put a Christmas garland around Olive's neck. She told me emphatically that was not okay. This wasn't a surprise. I tried to do the same with a plastic flower wreath back in June, and she bucked it off so violently, all the flowers detached from their stems.

the wreath she didn't destroy

I suppose it's possible for a horse to live a full and happy life without ever wearing wreaths and garlands, but not my horse. This is an important part of the Jennifer's horse job description, so the last week was all about desensitization costume wearing.

We started with the garland draped over the hitching post and worked our way up from there.

The hardest part - as always - was getting her to accept its touch on her shoulder.

Once she got used to that, things progressed pretty quickly.

Because I knew it would fall of her at least once or twice, I made sure she was okay with that.

Then - finally! - it was time to put it on her and get her walking.

Good girl, Olive.

Olive is an extremely observant horse. She definitely noticed when I switched the red garland with a green one. 

For a moment or two, I thought we were going to have to start all over, but happily, that wasn't the case. This is a big deal for Olive. Maybe - just maybe - she's finally learning to generalize.

There's still work to do, but I am really pleased with her progress.

And look! She wears polo wraps now.

Also, socks.

I love the socks.

"I used to be a wild horse."

Olive Longstocking.

Such a good girl!

It's been a good week with a lot of progress, but there's still more to do. January one is the universal Mustang birthday, and someone needs to wear a party hat!