Teach your horse to drop his head while bridling
I went out to feed my horses this morning and sank2 to 3 inches in the mud. It rained last night. At ourhouse we got about an inch. In town they got about aquarter inch.
It's rained here so much lately that my weeds areoutta control. I almost have a jungle out there. But I'm not complaining because we've been in a drought forabout 4 years. It's time for moisture.
What's it like where you live? Is it dry, wet,or in between?
Onward.
I wanted to answer another question one of my subscribers asked. I thought you might find it interesting.
The question is: "How do I get my horse to put his head down when I bridle him?"
Good question.
Here's what I do. I teach my horse to put his headdown when I touch with slight pressure on his poll. (Incase you're not sure...the poll is basically where yourhorse's neck vertebrae connect with the head.)
Anyway, I use the tips of my thumb and first finger and put downward pressure on the poll. Not a lot butenough so my horse knows there's pressure.
Then I give a simple command like "head down".
Likely, the horse won't put his head down. So Iincrease the pressure to the next level and hold thepressure contsant. Then I give the command again.
If the horse doesn't drop his head then I increasethe pressure to the next level. Then I give the command.
At some point the horse will drop his head to escapethe pressure. The second he does, release the pressureand pet him on the forehead above the eyes. Remember to tell 'em what a good boy (or girl) he is.
Then do it again.
Pretty quickly, your horse will understand to drop his head when you touch it and say "head down".
When you see he's got it, ask for a further dropin head elevation. In other words, when he drops his headgood, mmediately repeat this process and ask for anotherlower drop.
Pretty soon you will get him drop his head very nicely. And it'll be a piece of cake to bridle him.
Remember not to teach him this all in one day. It'll take a few days for just minutes at a time. Be patient and it will work.
One last comment. Some horses will do what you ask fasterthan others. It doesn't mean one is much smarter than the other. Just keep at it. The lesson is that it takes as long as it takes.
Okay?
Well, I hope you're getting all the moisture you need. Andif you're getting too much, send some our way.
Talk to you later.
Andy
P.S. If you wann know how to teach your horse to load in a trailer now is the time to learn. Why? Because I'm offering a pre-publication special on my newest video called:
"How To Get Your Horse To Load In A Trailer - Easy As Pie!"
You can check it out at:
http://www.horsetrainingandtips.com/trailer_loading.htm
3 Comments:
This is more a question than a comment. I didn't see anywhere or any way to post questions, so here it is.
My 2 yesr old gelded Quarter Horse colt, refuses to let me bath him. Living in Florida it gets hot as the dickens and you would think this would feel good to him. I have tried working him in the round pen and finally managed to get him to where I could touch him with a wet sponge, but no further. With the heat, I was scared I would give him a heat stroke if I continued to work him in the round pen. I have had a trainer tell me to tie him to a pole, bring the water hose close to him and let him have a fit, he claims that eventually he will realize that I am not trying to hurt him and will settle down. This seems a bit drastic to me.
I have to tell you that when I first got this horse (a surprise gift from my city slicker hubby) he was about as wild as they come. At 15 months old he had not had any human handling. Now he walks right up to us in the pasture, will lead (as long as in the pasture- anywhere else and he spooks), but he has come a long way. I have even had a bridle on him and a blanket with saddle (uncinched, I can even sit on him if he is laying down in the pasture - huge breakthrough). It took me sometime to earn his trust, and I am worried that if I try to bath him the way this trainer says, I will loose this trust.
Any suggestions??
My questin is How do I teach my 3 month old quarterhorse colt how to lead? I once connected a lead rope to his halter but he staring freaking out as soon as there was tension on his halter so i immediately let go of the lead rope and gave him a couple of minutes to calm down and then I unsnaped the lead rope from his halter. I want to do this the right way so he dosent get hurt or myself because he is already pretty good size for his age. Any tip would be greatly appreciated. Oh one more thing Im from Pequot Lakes Minnesota and weve had a good bit of rain here this summer and now its raining again for the 1st time in 17 days. Well thats all for now. Angela
We believe that our coming 3yr old gelding had a bobcat or another animal jump out of the trees onto his back when he was very young. He has the claw marks on his shoulders as proof. We have been doing extensive ground training and driving and "Bob" is doing very well. We are trying to mount him but he gets a wild look in his eyes and rears, bucks, etc. He has no trouble with the weight. I can lay across the saddlem as long as my head is not too high. I have worked with him by standing on things to make me taller than him, and as long as I am not behind him he is OK. He originally had a problem going under trees but I think we have that mastered now. My question is: How should I proceed with the training? Do you think that ponying would help the situation? Bob is very level headed about all new training, but we seem to have come to a stand still on this one.
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