Nebraska Horse Expo

We made the trek to Lincoln, NE last weekend for the Nebraska Horse Expo at the Lancaster Events Center.  Major and I were accompanied by Garmin (Major's moral support), my working student Sheridan (chauffeur extraordinaire), and the entourage consisting of Kim, Michelle, Kathy, and Jesse.  Bit of Honey Training was well represented! 

First refueling stop of the trip - stretching legs and letting the horses rest.

 Major acted like he does long hauls all the time, as I'm sure he did when he was racing in Kentucky and on the East coast.  He ate his hay, he played in the water, and generally kept little Garmin calm. 

Garmin in the trailer

 Garmin wasn't so sure about such a long trip.  He was pretty nervous and didn't eat his hay like usual in the trailer when he goes on shorter adventures. 

Garmin's nose in the stall at the expo, "remember I'm the cutest Public Relations pony here!"

When we initially arrived at the grounds on Thursday evening we were greeted by the friendliest parking people I've met yet.  They checked all our health papers and we headed into the barns to set up.  We were in a main aisle just off of the barn arena and round pen, however Major's stall was immediately beneath the PA system and the speaker was quite loud.  To start with he toughed it out pretty well, simply shaking his whole body when the vibrating speaker would sound, until the announcements became more frequent.  By mid afternoon on Friday he was literally climbing the walls and kicking the canvas dividers down in agitation.  If I walked him outside he immediately settled and was fine.  I went into the barn office to describe my situation and the office volunteers were wonderful.  They completely understood that Major is sensitive and I needed stalls located further from the speakers, especially when I explained the stall would likely be demolished by morning if we didn't move him. 

Major in his stall with his poster next to our tack stall with display

Once we were able to move everything (Major, Garmin, all our shavings, and the tack stall decor) Major was much happier.  He still noticed the PA system, but no longer was agitated by it.  We still went for at least twice daily walks outside for him to decompress, but overall he was much happier in the new locale.

Hand picking the shavings and tangles out of Major's tail before our first clinic session ride on Sat. am

Sporting the Bit of Honey Training vest