CountryByNet.com Forums :: be careful with yer horses!

Yes this training is to occur prior to the arrival of any vet or farrier service. Before I have the vet arrive for any new horse on my property, the horse is exposed and trained to a variety of situations. For example, in the round pen where respect has already been established, I will practice giving the horses shots. I train them to flex their necks slightly in the direction of the needle prick. This relaxes the muscles and allows for the needles to enter the tissue easier. This is one example of prior and proper preparation. Desensitizing a horse to scary objects also helps control the 'spooks'. While all horses have the flight or fight instinct, they can be exposed to situations, in a safe area, that will build their confidence. Spooking will occur less and if it does occur, since respect has been established, they will spook away from me, not towards me. Before a farrier ever touches my horses, they are hobble trained by a professional, taught to hold their legs up for extended periods of time, and taught to spook in place while on three feet. This takes time. A lot of time, but it is the owners' responsibility to prepare the horse. Again, look at my questions for Conservative1. Could the mare in question be touched everywhere, by anyone, and remain calm? How many hours a day, week, or year is the mare handled? And I don't mean seen, I mean handled with purposeful contact. Too often horse owners ignore a horse for days or weeks at a time and then expect them to be calm, confident, and relaxed in any situation. That just doesn't happen.
When trail riding, I ment the safety of other riders on the trail. Simply observe most riders next time you are out. Do they have control over their horses hind quarters? Shoulders? Can they move their horses' individual feet forward, backward, left and right one step at a time? Can they control the speed of their horse? The distance between the horses being ridden? Can their horse handle having riders approach quickly from the rear? Can they have the horse cross obstacles safely, not just follow the horse in front of them? Again, a horse is not born knowing how to be a good trail horse. They must be trained and then expected to retain that training.
As for neighbors, if you think a fence is protecting either them or your horses, you must not live near many neighbors with kids or small dogs. The kids behind me love to ride their bikes along the fence. They also love to play soccer and baseball in their back field that backs up to my pasture. Even after many discussions about safety, private property, and the nature of horses with both the kids and their parents...they still find their way into my pasture to retrieve a ball or their dog. So what did I do? I taught my horses to have soccer balls come flying at them and remain calm. I bought a cheap bike and taught the horses to ignore me while I am riding it around them in circles.
Can I train for every eventuality? No. But I can establish a pattern. I can also instill the idea into their heads, when you are scared and I am near, you should be more concerned with what I am asking you to do instead of the scary plastic bag.
Do my horses still spook? Sure. It is in a horse's nature. But they spook very rarely. My three year old gelding has spooked once in the two years I have had him. Once. He didn't spook when we were in the woods and a tree came crashing down to the ground five feet from us. He didn't spook when a wooden bridge broke underneath him. He stop and waited for me to tell him what to do next...because I have practiced with him enough that he trusts my judgement. When did he spook? When we came across an ostrich on a ride one day. We were with two other riders...their horses took off. He jumped and snorted and then calmed down when I gave him the calm down cue. Why did it work? Again because I practiced enough everyday, in all kinds of situations that raised his emotions...yet he still had to listen.
Look, all I am saying is that prior and thorough prepartion is needed when dealing with horses. You wouldn't throw your kid into a pool and yell, "Swim. Calm down!" and expect them to do well if you never taught them to swim, or even hold their breath. Why would you expect a horse to stand quietly for anything if you didn't train them to do so?

The slower you go, the faster you get there!

Post Extras: