2022 Makeover - Phase 2: Bonus Objective - 2632

Bonus Objective: Discover what motivates them (ex. treats, scratches, etc).

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Bellamy knew, from the note left to him from the colt’s previous owners, that he enjoyed playing with toys. He was still young and playfulness was to be expected, especially as he couldn't play with other horses. He offered him rope toys and a few balls to keep him occupied whilst the colt was in the pen. This was also to keep him from breaking out, as he seemed to be less inclined to escape if he was distracted efficiently. It seemed to work well and the colt was more stable with them. Bellamy couldn't help but wonder what that meant for him in his old home. Was he left for hours with just toys? Did they try to use them positively, towards training? Or were they just a crutch to keep him entertained in the meantime?

He was however shocked to find that wasn't all that motivated the colt. In fact, he was very well motivated, which would make him easier to train and handle. Bellamy hoped to use whatever motivations the colt had to help train and acclimate him.

The colt also seemed to be very interested in food, whether it be horse or human food. He wanted it. The colt would quite regularly attempt to raid Bellamy's pockets for any food or toys. He was extremely mischievous. On a positive note, this motivated Bellamy to get a proper treat pouch that was thief-proof.

The colt had been scolded quite a few times for trying to steal people's morning tea or coffee. He didn't care if it was too hot or cold, let alone if it was safe for him to even consume. Bellamy had no idea how he hadn't choked or coliced at his previous home or the shelter.

Bellamy also knew that the colt liked scratches, just general human attention and touch, but was weary of using it too much as a reward or training tool. The colt had human separation anxiety and he didn't want to feed into those problems too much with touching. He did give him occasional scratches or strokes, if he was taking something well, but was careful not to overdo it.

Bellamy found out surprisingly late that the colt loves blueberry. Whether it be the fruit, an item with the fruit added like a smoothie, or even blueberry flavoured food like gummies. The colt went nuts for them. He was known to steal blueberry muffins or smoothies, and after several attempts and incidents, most of the stable staff adapted ways of keeping him out of their food and drinks. Or even just avoiding blueberry items altogether. They knew he meant no harm by it, he just hadn't been told “no” much before and obviously really liked blueberries.

Bellamy intended to use normal horse treats as a low-value reward for him and use blueberries or blueberry flavoured items as a high-reward treat.