Charlie from HorseTrainingResources.com here….
In This Magazine Issue:
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1. What to do with a horse when you have little time
2. A Few Legacy Horse Books on CD Remaining
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1. What to do with a horse when you have little time
Andy Curry talks about making the best use of time with your horse….
Can you answer these two questions?
Question one.
What grows down while it grows up?
Question two.
If you don’t have much time to work with your horse during the week, is there anything you can do that would help?
I’ll answer question one in a minute.
So let’s start with question two.
I don’t know what your schedule is like, but if you’re like most people, you’re very busy.
That creates a bit of a dilemma when you’re a horse owner.
Why?
Because you should spend some time with your horse.
You don’t want them becoming lawn ornaments.
But what if you don’t have much time?
Is there anything you can do that is effective?
The answer is…
“Yes!”
There are lots of things you can do that matter.
But I won’t lie to you.
There are also lots of times you need anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours to be effective with a horse.
However, those are the times we’re not interested in at the moment.
So what kinds of things can you do with a horse if you only have just minutes a day?
Here are a few ideas for you.
Go out and catch your horse.
Put the halter on him.
Once you do, then start brushing him.
Talk to him when you brush him.
Build that trust factor and create a stronger familiarity between yourselves.
When you’re done, take off the halter.
Be sure not to let him take off when you remove the halter.
If he wants to leave as the halter is almost off, keep it around his neck and just keep a hold of him.
When he’s quiet for a few moments, then remove the halter.
Now you may be thinking that this sounds far too simple to be effective for anything.
Truth is, there’s more going on behind the scenes than the average Joe knows.
First, when you catch your horse with the halter and start brushing him, he starts an important association.
Of what?
That when you come at him with the halter he may get brushed.
So what?
Well, most of the time a horse sees a halter and knows he’s gonna have to work, possibly be kicked on, pulled on, etc.
If that was you,…wouldn’t you be hard to catch?
But if you started thinking you’re gonna get a nice brushing when you saw that halter, you’d have no reason to leave.
And if you’re situation is such that you don’t have much time, you can certainly approach your horse with a halter, brush him, pet him, and get him used to thinking the halter is a good thing.
Eventually, your horse won’t take off as you approach him with the halter.
Next, as you’re talking to him, you’re building a trust that your horse needs to have from you.
As he gets more familiar with your voice, he gets more trusting of you – as long as you don’t bother him.
And by bother him I mean hitting his fear button or his “you’re makin’ me mad” button.
But know this.
It’s okay to hit his fear button a little because you can help your horse get over stuff that scares him.
After all, a horse has to be scared of something to not fear it later.
The only thing is this.
It can often take more than just a few minutes to get a horse over the fear of something – so be careful what you choose to do.
Next, when you take off that halter and you get him staying with you, then there’s no reason for him to take off.
Why do you want him staying with you when take off the halter?
Because you want to keep a good association with you.
I find people who take off the halter then smack the horse in the butt with it to get ’em to run off.
They think it’s funny.
But they’re making it harder for the horse to be with them. They destroy that trust and confidence factor.
Plus, keeping your horse with you teaches him that YOU say when he can leave instead of him dictating what he can do.
That’s a respect thing you gotta have. Plus, you always, always, always want your horse looking to you for permission.
See?
There’s actually some good stuff you can do if you only have a few minutes a day.
If you want to know more things you can do, I urge you to check out the following:
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/dvdnotime.html
You should know that doing these quickie things are no substitute for spending good quality training and riding time with your horse.
But the fact is, you should do something with your horse every day if you can – and this’ll give you other ideas you can do that matter.
Lastly, did you figure out the answer to the first question:
“What grows down while it grows up?”
The answer is: A Goose
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/dvdnotime.html
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2. A Few Legacy Horse Books on CD Remaining
WE still have a few of the two-CD sets that contain 8 legacy horse training books
from the past. These books have been scanned and put into PDF form. There are
4 books per CD.
If you are interested in the wisdom of the old horse trainers then this is a steal.
When they’re gone, they’re gone.
They are only $20.00 for both CDs. They make a great addition to your library
and they just aren’t available any more.
http://www.horsetrainingresources.com/BooksOnCD.html
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Ok… that’s it for today.
Stay safe around your horses…
Charlie
