The bridle is no longer a problem so now I wanted to see if Shadow would let me put another headcollar on him. I put one over his other one just to prove he can cope. Using a makeshift mounting block in the field and laying out the fleece saddle, numnah and girth I decided to see how he’d cope with the next step.
He happily wandered over, gave a ‘no thank you!’ did a double take and went to walk off. It’s at this point when he’s introduced to something new that he freezes, his body goes solid with fear and he shakes. My aim is to show him that new things are interesting and not scary, and that if he trusts his human everything will be fine. Lunar helped Shadow walk past the mounting block, then he did it himself, then on went the numnah, then more walking until he was confident it was ok. I then hopped up onto the mounting block to be above him and he wasn’t comfortable. I gave him time to adjust and he soon relaxed. I brushed him and gave him a treat, walked around until he settled. Small steps but having come from a place of absolute fear these small steps are gradually filling his void with confidence and this is helping when building the next steps.