Calling Jasper

After being away for three days to attend Horse Affairs, I was more than anxious to get back to see Jasper.  When I pulled into the parking lot, he stuck his head around the door of his stall and let out a welcoming whinney.  After I'd turned him out and cleaned his stall, I went to fetch him from the pasture and whistled for him and he came trotting over.  Since my saddle and bridle are still in Boise (and currently en route), I couldn't ride, but spent a half hour or so grooming and fussing all over.  He seemed to relish in the pampering.

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I read an article in Endurance News over my winter vacation about a woman who was separated from her horse during an endurance ride and spent three days looking for him.  Her advice at the end of the story was to teach your horse a special whistle or call in case you should get separated.  Since Jasper has prior clicker training experience, I set to work immediately teaching him his own special whistle.

I filled my pockets with treats and headed out to the pasture and started by standing right next to him.  I'd whistle, give him a treat and repeat until he seemed to understand whistle=treat.  Then we started increasing the distance further and further until he seemed to really understand it.  All of this took a few days, but now I can whistle to him from anywhere on the property and he responds immediately.  If I'm outside the enclosure, he'll raise his head and look at me, ears pricked forward waiting.  If I'm inside his pen, he'll usually sigh and come walking or trotting over, depending on his mood.

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Another great piece of advice from my friend Jane is to take your horse's pulse, temperature, respiratory rate once a week.  She said that way, you'll notice a small deviation immediately and possibly before your horse is clinically ill and needing a veterinarian's assistance.