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about horses, equine sports and horse owners in northern British
Columbia. Canada |
Issue # 154 .gif) December
17, 2002 published
every Tuesday |
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Editor
- Kristi McCrindle, Southbank, BC |
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Well, so much can change so quickly when you have a horse
like Tori! I went from wanting to ride and being excited about
being back on her, to ready to sell her in few short weeks
of frustrations.
Since then, I came to terms with deciding to sell her, and
then back again to wanting to ride her. Thanks to Niki from
Prince George, who called and asked if I wanted to attend
a reining clinic in January, I now have a focus again! And
for those of you who have been readers here at Northern BC
Horse for some time, you’ll know how important having
a focus is to me!
Once again, I am usually able to tolerate Tori’s misbehaviours,
such as spooking at the end wall of the arena and not wanting
to walk on a loose rein. Knowing they are caused simply by
her nerves, for the most part I can just ignore them. Sometimes
however I have other things on my emotional agenda, and if
there is one thing I really learned it is that I can’t
have anything on my mind when I go to ride her!
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Photo credit: Chris
Hassell
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In any case, it is nice to have a focus and a reason to ride
again, and I have been mostly enjoying our rides (we even
had three really good ones in a row - progress!). Now if I
just had time to spend with Karisma I’d be laughing!
Speaking of time, where does it go so fast? It’s already
half way through the last month of the year - wow! We’re
taking Tuesday, December 24 off, as most of you will be busy
with your families then anyway. Merry Christmas to those of
you who celebrate it, and Happy Holidays for those of you
who don’t! We’ll be back with more about horses
in northern BC on December 31. 'Til then, have a great two
weeks - and don’t forget to take your horses some special
treats like apples, carrot and a hot bran mash!
~ Kristi :)
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| email: kristi@hiway16.com |
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Retraining the spoiled horse - Part 3
- Who’s the leader?
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One of the most serious problems a beginner horse handler
can face is a horse that is pushy on the ground. This horse
is fully aware of his size advantage, dragging the handler
around, pushing into the handler with his shoulder, stepping
on his feet, just generally crowding the handler at all times.
He often flips his head against the halter shank to lengthen
the rope, and can’t be kept from going to whatever catches
his fancy - be it a fresh patch of grass, another horse, or
even just running off when spooked.
A horse can be very well schooled and still begin to exhibit
this behaviour quite quickly when handled by a novice because
the novice won’t take the horse to task each time a small
boundary is pushed. This is simply because the novice doesn’t
recognize the minor infractions as a breach of the rules,
and therefore lets it go by uncorrected.
So, how can these problems be turned around into good behaviour?
Let’s look at each symptom, one by one, and methods that
can help you retrain your horse.
If your horse has learned that he can lead you around the
yard, you need to put a stop to that. For any horse handler,
I recommend that you have a more experienced horse person
(preferably a professional or old timer) with you to guide
your progress and help you with situations as they arise.
One of the best ways I have found to retrain this type of
horse is to use a chain. Now, before you get upset over that,
remember that I have suggested you have experienced help!
An experienced handler will be able to show you the correct
way to install a chain, and the correct way to use it. In
case you haven’t got access to someone to help you, I’ll
describe both as best I can.
The chain should be handled carefully - those are sensitive
tissues underneath! Hauling off and reefing on the chain shank
is never a good idea, however, you may need to tug on a spoiled
horse to prevent the bad behaviour and keep his attention
on you. Refer to the archive for February
21, 2000 for more information on using a chain.
Continued next week...
If you have comments or suggestions along the way, please
share with me at kristi@hiway16.com
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Halter training - Part 9
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When you first go to tie up your
foal, you have to understand that you are limiting the flight
option for an animal whose primary response is to flee from
danger.
If you have done your homework, and spent lots of time teaching
your foal to come towards pressure from the halter, chances
are you will never have trouble tying her up. Still, it can’t
hurt to be too careful, so here’s a recommended way of
starting the tying process.
Take your foal near the fence, post, or tree that you will be
tying her to. Make sure it is a safe spot to tie up in - no
tools or other implements for her to get tangled up in, no wire
fences for her to stuck in, and so on. Try to pick a day that
allows good footing (not too muddy or too icy).
Start tying by not actually making the rope tied fast. To do
this, simply run the leadrope behind the post, or around the
hitching rail, and hold the other end. Then you need to use
that store of patience again! You get to act as the thinking
end of this partnership, while your foal gets to test the limits
of the rope at the fence.
You don’t need to spook your foal, just wait and see what
happens. Eventually, she may come to the end of the rope, and
hopefully, if your training holds true, she’ll just as
quietly step forward to release the pressure.
If instead she panics and pulls back, you are holding the other
end of the rope and can allow her to come back while quieting
her - instead of having her hit the end of the rope hard and
possibly injuring herself. You can do this for as long of periods
of time as you can stand there and be patient - bring a book
with you!
You can also, once your foal has come to the end of the rope
a few times on her own, start moving her around on the end of
the tie. Again, don’t spook her, but simply ask her to
move her body around by asking her to step sideways or move
her hindquarters. Each time she responds to these requests,
it gives her another chance to come to the end of the rope,
and each time she gives to the tied rope, she makes the lesson
more solid.
When you first tie a youngster fully, use a quick release knot
and be prepared for anything, but chances are if you have done
all of this prep work, your foal will tie well, every time.
More halter training tips and info next week.
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