The best part of my day yesterday was putting blankets on the fillies for the first time. Although we spent a good part of the day volunteering down at the Stock Show, and there was lots of wonderful things that happened there too. Probably the best part of that entire event, was the adorable black and white pig we spent a lot of time with. All the pigs really. They were so cute! One was so deeply sleeping, and had their little snout buried in the shavings, that with each breath he blew a little volcano of shavings up into the air. It was adorable. And the black and white pig begged for our attention, and then simply propped himself down against the bars of his enclosure, as close to us as possible, so we could scratch his back. Which of course we did for quite some time, much to his delight.

Some little boys came along and continued to make jokes about bacon. I looked one straight in the eyes and told him that was so mean. He was taken aback, but we both moved on.

Seeing all of the animals from behind the scenes is enlightening, and sometimes, disheartening. The way some animals are treated was hard to watch. Certainly no positive reinforcement here. Which again is tough because these are all THE animal people, yet none of them use anything except the old controlling ways to treat the animals. Very sad.

This continued when we went into the CSU Spur building where they do the horse therapy. I read all the literature they had to offer. I thought it was interesting how you can’t get anywhere near the therapy horses, or get to observe how the animals are handled. However, all of the clinics and summer programs they offer, are absolutely NOT positive reinforcement based. How can this be? How can the premier brand new equine facility, supported by the best agricultural college in the country, not be embracing the scientifically proven and validated best way to train animals? I left there feeling frustrated and helpless to find such a glaring disconnect between the best behavior science in the world, and not seeing it put to use in this premier facility.

Regardless, today I am grateful for the snow, I am grateful the girls took to wearing their new blankets like old pro’s without a bit of stress (thank you R+), I am grateful I got to spend the day at the Stock Show with people I care about and who support me, and I am grateful for you, you Animal Loving Angel, because I know if you have bothered to read this, this far, that you get it.

Don’t forget to sign in to the new ResqRanch community, no catches, no gimmick’s, just ALL my very best stuff, absolutely free, because that is just how passionate I am about everyone in the world understanding the power of positive reinforcement. If people really want to change lives through animals, then this is the only way any of us should ever handle or train any of our animals ever again. Train them in such a way where they have a choice. Don’t you want that for your best friend?

​So on this bitter cold day (my nostrils froze together when I went outside to do this video today), stay inside, stay warm, and maybe it’s the perfect time to log in to the community and check out what I am offering you, absolutely for free. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop them in a comment on any of my videos. Thanks for being here, be kind to yourself, and make the most of this beautiful day!

Check out my YouTube channel for a daily "Good Morning!" from the rescues and lots of free tips and training resources. https://www.youtube.com/@the1drq

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