Mazie Mobile progress! Update pg 2!

[barnbum]

I wanted to do this with Blessing, but never did, and now she resides with Julie.

So, Mazie gave me a second chance.

I ordered a wheelchair ramp and a cargo liner to outfit the Mazie Mobile.

We've been practicing with it on the horse trailer (I also needed a better ramp for there--this one is perfect!)

Once she's ready (we're taking slow careful baby steps), she'll be greeting and being hugged by assisted living residents.

If you peer into the dark interior you'll see me with my Mazie munchkin.

It took may attempts, many "almost there"s, and numerous breaks, but she made it!

She spent the first third of the time being on full alert....

The next third investigating her new surroundings, for example tasting the seats, chewing on a CD case, pawing the cargo liner, and sniffing the floor.

And the last third diving into the snack available.

When I decided she'd had enough--about 20-30 min--I asked her to step out and she proceeded daintily and cautiously down the ramp. Perfect.

The next step, for another day, is to go for a short ride. I'll be holding her, while Mark drives.

 

[Marty]

That's a lot of progress!

She is going to really help those in need of a good horsey hug.

Way to go Mazie!

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

Great pics! She'll be a hit and who can resist horsey kisses?

Think this coming spring I will look into doing the home/assisted living/community visits with some of my "kids", been something I've wanted to do (would really love to set-up some kind of Ag/Farm Day for the community/local schools to come out and learn about agriculture/farming/livestock and that milk really comes from a cow, not the store

)

 

[wingnut]

Love it! We joke all the time that we can just throw one of girls in the back of my van. Now, I can see that is really *is* possible!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Love it!

 

[shelly]

What a great idea with the wheelchair ramps!!!! I know lots of people use their mini vans to transport minis but this is the first one I've seen with the ramp! Good luck with the next steps---I bet she learns very quickly! Mazie is sooooo cute, the elderly people are going to LOVE her!!!!!

 

[AppyLover2]

I've got an SUV and have wondered (everytime I see pictures of someone using their van) whether they can ride in an SUV too. I know there isn't as much head room, but I've been seriously tempted to try it and see if mine will fit in there.

 

[LittleRibbie]

Thats great!! How big/tall is Mazie? Did you have to teach her to lower her head getting thru the door...thats been my fear in training my smallest, which is the only one I would consider putting in my van.

Heidi

 

[maplegum]

Go Mazie! Go Karla!

That is my idea of great horse transport. They are right there with you, in the heated and air conditioned car. I'd love to have a van to do this with.

Brave girl Mazie, you make it look so easy.

xox Leonie xox

 

[barnbum]

I'll have to check to see how tall Mazie is--hope she doesn't get much taller!! I'm guessing 28-29". Within 10 min of her birth, I told my husband, she's going to stay small--this is my therapy horse--she's not going anywhere.

:wub

Now I think Gypsy will fit in there too.

This is going to be a very good distraction for not breeding anymore!!

I didn't have to teach her to duck--she did that on her own--and she barely has to. I wanted to try her again today--but I waited for the vet to come, then she was here nearly 3 hours and I'm freezing... in warming up. Hopefully after school tomorrow we'll give it another go.

One reason I wanted to do this is because I want to handle one horse at a time, since I don't have an adult horse friend nearby. And it's waaay too lonely for one little munchkin in the back, in the trailer all alone.

Our first trip may be Nov 26th.

 

[barnbum]

Update--Mazie's been in the van three times now and today we took her for a ride!!

We drove two miles to my dad's place and stopped for a bit. I didn't get her out because we need to buy a strap to secure the ramp in the van--just to be safe--so the ramp didn't come. She was quite interested in the scenery.

We drove the long way home--under 5 minutes. She pooped twice--and the first time, since she was standing sideways, it went off the cargo liner, so it's not fool proof--catch proof?

I'm going to take the dog scooper when we go. When we pulled in the driveway, she saw the all the others sunbathing and she whinnied loudly. But, when I got her out and back to the barn, she wasn't in a hurry to get in with them. Good sign!

We go to Quail Summit on the 25th of Nov. We'll practice several more times before then. I also want to bring her into the house.

Oh--Gypsy fits perfectly fine in the van, too. It's much taller in there than our last one. She never hesitated to climb up and in. I considered taking both girls to QS for the first visit, but I'm worried about them tangling leads in there and they'd not be able to stand sideways for the best balance--so I'm going to keep it simple for now. My daughter will be home from college, so she'll be coming. She's the best help I have!

 

[Whitestar]

Just a suggestion to anyone putting horses in a car/van/suv. Please look into buying a divider for the driver area, they make them for large breed dogs & they are removeable if needed, but will keep anything in the back from coming into the front drivers area. Although we had a 8 horse mini trailer, we use to carry some of our babies in our mini van & had 18 wheelers honk when they would see the horse through the windows & they would would be frightened & bang into the divider trying to get to us. Had it not been there, we could have been in a bad wreck. You never know when a horse will spook & bolt into the driving area. Also be very careful riding in the back with them, they can really hurt you in such a small area. Remember there are other people on the road & you will not be able to control a car with a horse sitting on your lap.

 

[twister]

Karla, It is great that you are going to do therapy with Maizie but Whitestar is right, I had my husband build a portable stall that fits in the back of my minivan and prevents Jazz from getting into the front. You also don't want to get into a situation where you have to put the brakes on suddenly and have a horse go through the windshield, that would not be nice for you or for the horse. So either buy a divider or have your husband make one.

Yvonne

 

[barnbum]

Thanks Whitestar and Yvonne.

The plan now is to tie Mazie with a tie long enough for her to reach hay in a rubber bowl. The tie allows her to get her head between the front seats, but not past her shoulders. With the arm rests down I thought that would work well. This was part of the reason for our test run--to make final decisions on everything. I hate tying horses, but I don't want her walking all around the back of the van at will, so this seems to work best. She's on a tie long enough to eat and stand sideways very comfortably, but not go too far or get tangled.

When I use the trailer and have a box stall area I don't tie my horses, but in this case I feel it's safer. Of course, nothing is safe if one is hit, but those are the chances anyone takes when they take a horse away from home.

Thanks for caring!!