So today I took the time to work with my new horse, Rose (Rosebud). I have the farrier (trims horses hooves) coming tomorrow and I haven't had the chance to really work with her since the last time he was here. For those who don't know, last time did NOT go well at all...other then Rose got a rude awakening and a serious attitude adjustment. Which I must say was very much needed.
So today I decided, no matter what, I was going to work with her. She wasn't able to pick up any of her feet when I first bought her. Thanks to her last attitude adjustment last time, she could now pick up her front feet, but not her back.
I didn't put a time limit on myself, just knowing I definitely wanted to be able to at least pick up her back feet without too much hassle. I started out with some serious lunging (making them walk, trot or canter in circle). I will hand it to her, she has some serious spunk and energy piled up inside. It didn't take long till she was sweating, although I was right along with sweating since it was pretty hot out. I kept her lunging for about 45 minutes before I decided she was tired enough to mess with. She still wasn't completely tired but it was better then before, since I was going to be picking up her hind feet putting me in a precarious position.
I used a roped and looped it around her foot and started pulling and making her pick up her feet and hold it without kicking out, the moment she stopped moving her foot I would release (as reward) and allow her to rest it on the ground. It didn't take too long for her to pick it up without kicking out. Trusting that she was over most of the striking out, I stopped using the rope and went to picking up her feet with my hands. She still gave me a lot of grief but at least she was picking them up, better then nothing. I would switch back and forth between both hind legs so she wouldn't favor to one side more then the other. As some of the best trainers will tell you, "Whatever you do on one side, do on the other." It seems like common knowledge but its easily passed over when you're in the moment of dealing with a 1000lbs horse.
So on I went, going back and forth with both feet until she would hold her foot longer each time. By the end of the session I had her resting her legs on my thigh for over a minute without twitching or pulling away. I was very happy by the end and also another well known saying, "Always end on a good note." Horses are well known for their long memories and ending something on a bad note will only leave them with a bad taste in their mother about whatever you were doing before. So whether you are lunging, leading, riding or being thrown off a horses, always make sure you leave them on a happy note, not only for their sake but also for your own. I cannot recount to how many times I have wanted to just walk away or having been thrown off my horse, wanted to just quit for the day. I would always makes sure I got back on and it would always make me feel better, until the next day when all the pain came of course, LOL. Even then though, it's great to make sure everyone is happy.
We worked on a few more things before I let her go back out to pasture, but all in all it was a very promising lesson and training session. She seems to be growing more attached to me it seems, which I feel bad when I have to be stern with her when all she wants is reassurance that I'm not mad at her for something.
So! Yah willing everything we accomplished today I pray sticks tomorrow. Especially when our farrier is here, I hope she is as good with him as she is with me. ^_^
Hope I didn't bore too many of you with my horse talk, But I figure I do have some horse lovers who follow my blog, so this one is for them. Hope you enjoyed!
So today I decided, no matter what, I was going to work with her. She wasn't able to pick up any of her feet when I first bought her. Thanks to her last attitude adjustment last time, she could now pick up her front feet, but not her back.
I didn't put a time limit on myself, just knowing I definitely wanted to be able to at least pick up her back feet without too much hassle. I started out with some serious lunging (making them walk, trot or canter in circle). I will hand it to her, she has some serious spunk and energy piled up inside. It didn't take long till she was sweating, although I was right along with sweating since it was pretty hot out. I kept her lunging for about 45 minutes before I decided she was tired enough to mess with. She still wasn't completely tired but it was better then before, since I was going to be picking up her hind feet putting me in a precarious position.
I used a roped and looped it around her foot and started pulling and making her pick up her feet and hold it without kicking out, the moment she stopped moving her foot I would release (as reward) and allow her to rest it on the ground. It didn't take too long for her to pick it up without kicking out. Trusting that she was over most of the striking out, I stopped using the rope and went to picking up her feet with my hands. She still gave me a lot of grief but at least she was picking them up, better then nothing. I would switch back and forth between both hind legs so she wouldn't favor to one side more then the other. As some of the best trainers will tell you, "Whatever you do on one side, do on the other." It seems like common knowledge but its easily passed over when you're in the moment of dealing with a 1000lbs horse.
So on I went, going back and forth with both feet until she would hold her foot longer each time. By the end of the session I had her resting her legs on my thigh for over a minute without twitching or pulling away. I was very happy by the end and also another well known saying, "Always end on a good note." Horses are well known for their long memories and ending something on a bad note will only leave them with a bad taste in their mother about whatever you were doing before. So whether you are lunging, leading, riding or being thrown off a horses, always make sure you leave them on a happy note, not only for their sake but also for your own. I cannot recount to how many times I have wanted to just walk away or having been thrown off my horse, wanted to just quit for the day. I would always makes sure I got back on and it would always make me feel better, until the next day when all the pain came of course, LOL. Even then though, it's great to make sure everyone is happy.
We worked on a few more things before I let her go back out to pasture, but all in all it was a very promising lesson and training session. She seems to be growing more attached to me it seems, which I feel bad when I have to be stern with her when all she wants is reassurance that I'm not mad at her for something.
So! Yah willing everything we accomplished today I pray sticks tomorrow. Especially when our farrier is here, I hope she is as good with him as she is with me. ^_^
Hope I didn't bore too many of you with my horse talk, But I figure I do have some horse lovers who follow my blog, so this one is for them. Hope you enjoyed!
Awesome. Yeah, way to go with ending on a good note. That's how it's done with dog training as well. Wishing you the best with your training! You should post this kind of stuff more often too.
ReplyDeleteZachary
Agreed with Zachary! I loved reading this, its like I'm living out my desire to train through you! Please keep us updated on how it's going!! :)
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