Odin

We’re all very pleased to report that Odin continues to walk into and stand in his chute, and he seems to get more comfortable with it each day. When I was working with him the other day, he was happy to stand there for about a minute at a time—which is pretty impressive considering that patience is not always a horse’s favorite hobby.

To keep things interesting, we’ve also been reintroducing him to the flag. Each day he reacts a little less, which tells us he’s really starting to understand that the flag is not, in fact, a terrifying dragon sent to ruin his day. Overall, he’s making great progress.

One thing we didn’t expect, however, was for Odin to get quite so…creative with how he used the chute.

Our original plan was simple: Odin walks in one end, stands quietly, and then walks out the other end. Nice and orderly. Doors on both ends. Easy. Eventually we’d close one door at a time and teach him to relax inside. Always enter one end, exit the other, everyone happy.

Well… Odin apparently did not receive that memo.

At first, he liked the idea of walking in one end and backing out the same way. Fair enough. Then he started walking in one end and out the other, which made us think we were really getting somewhere.

But Odin had a different vision.

At some point he decided the best possible solution was to walk in… turn completely around inside the chute… and leave the same way he came in—still facing forward like a true professional. Because obviously, backing out is beneath him.

What was he thinking? Good question. Clearly we were not thinking like a horse when we designed this chute.

The good news is that Odin is big, strong, and apparently very committed to his ideas. In the process of executing his plan, he managed to bend the bars of the chute slightly to accommodate both his turning radius and his rather impressive rear end. He may have received a complimentary chiropractic adjustment during the first attempt at this maneuver, but thanks to Odin’s “design improvements,” the chute now seems perfectly suited for his preferred U-turn technique.

In the end, we’ve learned an important lesson: when working with Odin, it’s always wise to have a plan… and then be prepared for Odin to improve it.

The best part is that through all of this creativity, he continues to grow more confident, calmer, and more trusting each day. So while the chute may not look exactly like it did when we built it, Odin is doing great—and that’s really what matters most.