PYP

16 Responses to “Ask The Trainer”

• 

  Abhaya says:

  February 24, 2010 at 6:44 pm

  Hi,

  I have an 10 year old quarter horse mare who is green broke. She is a sweet heart but is scared of almost everything. Plastic bags, sticks, dogs barking, anything which moves suddenly; this mare has serious trust issues. We have had her for about 7 years or so and she has not improved greatly in this regard. I have tried to slowly introduce her to items and sack her out but her fear does not seem to dimenish at all.

  A few years ago we put her out to pasture and didn’t work with her much for about 2 years when I started college. I started working with her again recently and she seems to be just where I left her off. A sweet horse who is scared of the world around her.

  What can I do to gain her trust? She is not a “bad” horse and doesn’t buck or bite, but if she gets scared she will take off running and damn whatever is in her way. When I am on her back she seems to grow even more nervous and gets quite uncomfortable if I ride her away from her pack mates out in the field.

  I have had several trainers tell me that she just needs miles but I rode her for years and she seems just as green and frightened as the day we braught her home.

  I would very much welcome some advice on this matter.

  Thank you in advance!

  A.H

   
• 

  K. Murphy says:

  February 24, 2010 at 8:20 pm

  Hi,
  I own a 7 year old clydesdale stud. He is a fine horse to ride, behaviorly he is near perfect. I ride him bareback or with a bareback pad most the time, I prefer this method as I’ve gained a ton over the years and have balance on a horse better then most. When I ride, I use a very light hand on the reins, rather then too harsh, I use leg presure as much as I can to direct my boy.
  I want to know how I can get him to better collect him self and move off his rear end. When I ride, he seems to push more with the rear in a canter then any other gait. His nose goes down more and I can feel the energy coming from behind me when we canter, but when he trots and walks, it’s pretty average. I’ve been working to better my posture, and notice a slight degree of difference in how he move just by ajusting my self better and reaching with my legs.

  Is there any advice you could give me to better my riding and collect my horse?

  Thanks so much and have a wonderful day!

  P.S. I use a Dr. Cooks bitless bridle with the reins attached to the bitless going through an O-rings on a straight bit. I only use the bit so he’s used to a bit, when I ride for pleasure I sometimes don’t use it and only use the bitless, and have good communication with him. Should I change bits/bridles?

   
• 

  admin says:

  February 25, 2010 at 8:06 am

  This is in reply to the 7 year old clydesdale stud.

  I think you definitely are on the right track. First thing to remember is collection is literally a shorting from nose to tail with a shorter stride and a driving action from the horses rear end. In saying that I want to talk a little about the bit/ bitless bridle you are using. Don’t get me wrong, you can get some collection from a bitless bridle and you can get some collection from an o ring snaffle (which is what I assume you mean by straight bit.) However, snaffle bits are designed to work on several parts of the horses mouth. The mouth piece works on the tongue and bars of the mouth. The horses lips also feel pressure from the mouthpiece and the rings. The idea of the snaffle is that you get a lot of lateral (side to side) action rather than vertical action. Granted given the correct amount of pressure you can teach your horse to drop his head, tuck his nose and with drive up from behind but it can be a little more challenging when using a bitless bridle because you are definitely working on that lateral action. Take my words into consideration however, i’m by no means telling you that I think you should switch what your working with. I am however, going to give you a little advice on collection and how to get it by the use of pressure and release (this is my method for everything and you’ll hear me say it a lot).
  Pressure= asking the horse to do something. Whether it be with your voice, let, hands, body language etc. (catch my drift?)
  Release= once your horse responds to the pressure correctly you release as a reward. (its nice to reward our horse with a pat, a treat, an i love you smootchy smootchy; but remember horses really are rewarded by the release of pressure)
  Example: when i ask my horse to take a step forward with the lead rope i apply pressure from the rope and release when the horse steps forward.

  We are going to apply the same rules when asking our horse for collection.
  Start first at the walk then the trot then the canter.
  Also please remember as i’m going over this our horses must fully understand the concept of pressure and release because this pressure is one of a conflicting aid.
  Conflicting aid= a set of commands that contradict each other to create a specific result.
  While walking your horse straight apply a small amount of direct pressure with your hands low. (i’m talking below the withers, we will move them up as the horse begins to understand). With this direct pressure the first time your horse might confuse this with stopping or slowing. To counter act the stopping or slowing we will apply enough leg pressure to keep your horse moving forward at the walk.
  What might happen… your horse stops anyways (apply more leg)
  your horse fights you and pulls on the reins or tosses his head in argument (DO NOT PULL HARDER, but instead keep the same
  steady pressure you had with your hands low)
  When you get the right response… When your horse finds the right answer he will drop his nose in or possibly slightly downward. We are looking for more inward than downward but reward the initial effort.
  Remember reward is release. Don’t be afraid to look goofy here but when your horse gives you a drop or tucks his nose even just a 1/2in RELEASE RELEASE RELEASE!! Toss your hands toward his head in an over exaggerated action to signify a huge release of pressure very quickly off his mouth. This will let him know he did the right thing.
  Let him walk a few strides and start all over again.
  Low with the hands direct pressure pulling straight back
  Drive forward with leg pressure
  Tuck of the nose and release.
  Do this again and again and again and again (well you get it)
  This takes practice. Reward your horses efforts. He will begin to understand that as you are riding that direct pressure of the hands with pressure from the legs means to tuck his nose and drive forward from behind. Your hands do the nose work and your legs move your horse forward. Thereby telling your horse to collect. You can try this with your bitless bridle and with your o ring.
  As your horse becomes better and better and tucking his nose and driving forward slowly move your hands up inch by inch to the appropriate hand position where you and your horse are comfortable.
  Once you’ve mastered this at the walk then go to trot then to canter. Again, collection in a literal shortening from nose to tail. Your horse should shrink.
  Remember… this will take time because there are no other aids, such as martingales etc (which by the way i have nothing wrong with using them).
  One more this about your bit. If your o ring is a loose ring (meaning in swivels through the mouth piece) please be careful because you can get your horses lip pinched between the ring and the mouth piece. I always recommend using bit guards for bits that have a loose ring. Bit guards are small round attachments that go on the bit to protect from pinching.
  Keep working on it until your horse keeps his nose tucked from a slight amount off pressure applied to the bit and then use those legs to drive his hindquarters underneath him.

  Practice and patience is key here.

  I hope this helped. Please feel free to write again if you have any additional questions or concerns. Hope I covered everything. Gotta run the kids to school.

  Talk to you later
  Cassandra

   
• 

  admin says:

  February 25, 2010 at 9:30 am

  This is on the 10 year old qh mare who is green broke.

  As I’m sure you well know that horses with trust and fear issues are definitely harder to “fix” than others. I can’t say for sure where the issues are coming but it sounds like she is herd sour which may have something to do with her lack of trust. When you take her away from the herd she becomes fearful, untrusting, and what sounds like maybe dangerous. I would say one thing to try is to work her around another confident horse. Obviously the goal is to be able to take her away from the herd but you do have to understand she has spent 10 years really doing a what sounds like a whole lot of nothing but hanging with the other horses. So in saying that I think working her in the company of another confident horse could help a little.
  Also,
  Just like i said in the reply to the question about the 7yr clyd stud… Its all about pressure and release.
  Don’t just approach your horse with something and think your going to be able to rub her down with it right away. That will just create more fear. What your going to want to do is the approach and retreat method. If you have it i suggest using a round pen. This is the safest space to work with a horse because there are no corners and its big enough to work in but not to big that she can get to far away from you. If you don’t have a round pen, do the best with what you’ve got.
  Start with something she may be comfortable with already like her lead rope, saddle pad, etc.
  Approach her with an object. (lets say saddle pad). Fold the pad as small as you can comfortably hold it so its not a HUGE scary monster. (again you can use whatever you want but start with the familiar then move to the unfamiliar).
  “Rule of thumb- horses will more comfortably follow something scary than let it approach them. ”
  Start walking toward her with the pad. Pay attention to her body language. Just before she’s going to run from you she will tense up, eyes wide and head high. Approach her to just before the point her wanting to leave you. Just before that point turn away and leave her first. Your almost saying to her that scary things will leave before you leave. Give her a few seconds to soak this up an then approach again. Try to get and inch closer this time. By the way, you may be 10- 20 feet away when you first start this. So approach again and get just an inch, a step or whatever you can, closer closer to her with the pad. Keep working at it until you get close enough to touch her with it. Here is the key it all of this. When you get close to the horse let her approach the pad first with her nose. Hold it with confidence. If you act like its scary then it is scary. If you show some confidence then she will follow your lead. So let her sniff it with her nose then walk away. Do this again and again and again until she is comfortable with you walking up to her with it and she is willing to touch it with her nose. If she is starting to feel comfortable with what your doing then she might starting following you and the pad around. This is a great sign. If she doesn’t that’s Ok too just keep up the approach and retreat. After she is comfortable touching it with her nose then attempt to rub it on her face. Only just for a second, then walk away. Again, after she is comfortable with this then rub her a little longer on her face (right between the eyes) then attempt to move to the neck. (approach and retreat) Then move to the shoulder (approach and retreat) then to the front legs, then the body, then the hips, then the rear legs (be careful back there). When you are working around the hindquarters make sure you stand at an angle closest to the shoulder and reach toward the hind end so that if the horse kicks out to the side you don’t get in the way.
  Use this method for every scary item and don’t be afraid to do this every day with everything that is scary. Its going to take some time. She needs to understand that what she thinks is scary you can take away. The trust to you will come with this.
  I also would like to say that leading work with this horse will help you in your desensitizing. If your horse doesn’t respect your space on the ground then you might be in for a semi dangerous situation. Make sure your mare doesn’t enter your “bubble” YOUR SPACE IS YOUR SPACE. Make sure your horse understands that. She isn’t aloud to walk in front of you. She is aloud to lean on you, rub on you etc. When your working on leading make sure that you change directions ALOT. This will keep her thinking about your direction and what you want her to do.
  Also, if you feel like your horse is going to run you over be bigger than you are. Through those hands way up in the air shout and be scary. If she is already scared than she isn’t going to want to come by someone else that is super loud and big and scary. Please be careful in everything that you do with your horses. Fearful horses can be the most dangerous because they are working off of natural instincts not misunderstanding.

  I hope my approach and retreat method works for you and your mare.
  Good luck and if you have any more questions feel free to ask me here.

  Thanks
  Cassandra

   
• 

  horsnarnd61 says:

  February 27, 2010 at 9:54 am

  Hi. I have a question for the trainer. I am planning on showing my Appaloosa mare this spring in local western pleasure walk/trot shows in Porter County and surrounding county shows. I’ve never shown before and am very excited. My question is about saddles. I had a saddle which I liked. However, after using the new saddle for the summer of 2009, I found it no longer fits my appy. I am in the market for a new one but have found it very expensive for the saddle I want. I love Circle Y and Tucker saddles. However, as expensive as they are, I am terrified to buy one online because they are very expensive and what if it doesn’t fit once I try it on my mare? I don’t have that kind of money to be thowing around on a saddle I don’t know will fit. There is so much to consider when buying a saddle and being the novice saddle purchaser, am very confused about the terms used in relation to sizes, etc. Is there a way to make sure the saddle I want fits my horse? I am more concerned about the saddle fitting my horse properly than I am about comfort for me. Although, it would be ideal to find a saddle that fits her and me. Can you please help?

  Thanks!

  Horsnarnd61

   
• 

  admin says:

  February 27, 2010 at 5:36 pm

  Oh saddles… what a complicated mess they can be.

  Circle Y saddles are my 1st choice. Tuckers are great. I would also look into Billy Cook saddles, however, they can be a little more expensive.

  I’m assuming you are looking to purchase a used saddle online. My suggestion would be to go to your local tack shop to seek out a saddle. Many times they will let you take the saddle to try it on your horse and then return it if it doesn’t fit. I do realize this isn’t always an option though so here are some things to remember when purchasing a saddle.

  First thing is first. If you don’t know the parts of the saddle this isn’t going to help much. If you don’t then go to google and search in the images section “western saddle parts” and look over the picture with all the parts listed. Once you have that then this will make more sense.

  1st- If you looking for a saddle to show western pleasure in then try to find something with a little bling bling on it. Silver conchos, and silver corners on the leather. Obviously this isn’t a necessity but it will help to get you noticed in the western pleasure show ring. Its all about being flashy. Flashy horse, flashy saddle, flashy rider.

  2nd- when looking for a saddle make sure the the tree ( the inside skeleton of the saddle) isn’t broken. You can check to see if a tree is broken by putting the cantle (rear of the saddle) on your hip and pulling a little on the pommel (front of the saddle under the horn). When you do this, if there is any wiggle in the saddle front to back or side to side then it can signify that the tree is broken.
  NEVER NEVER NEVER put a saddle with a broken tree on your horse.

  Tree= saddles internal skeleton. The tree can be made of rawhide-covered wood, fiberglass-covered wood, or synthetic plastic. I recommend rawhide- covered wood. This tree will have the most give on your horses back. Its the better option when choosing a saddle. Many of the older circle y saddles are made with the rawhide covered wood but the newer saddles have many different options so make sure you ask.

  Measuring a saddle for fit of rider
  The inches listed for a saddle is the seat size. The most common seat sizes are 14″ 15″ 16″. 14″ is good for a smaller rider. And it goes up from there.

  Measuring a saddle for the fit of the horse if you have the saddle at the saddle shop but cant bring it home.
  One thing you can do the gives you a general idea is to take a wire coat hanger and form it over your horses withers. After you get the wire hanger bent over the horses withers than take it off and put it on cardboard, trace it on the card board and then cut out your shape. If you can put the shape up to the front of the saddle where it would normally sit on the horses back then it will help to show you if the saddle will/should fit. If the saddle looks wider than your cut out then the saddle with sit to low on the horses withers which means its to wide. If the saddle is narrower than your cutout it will sit to high on the horses back and pinch the withers.

  Measuring the gullet of the saddle is important in knowing if it will fit your horse.
  Quarter Horse Bar or Semi Quarter Horse Bar is by far the most common tree. It has a higher pitch as opposed to the flatter pitch for FQHB. It is for the medium back, decent wither and often mixed blood descent (1/2 Arab, Appendix or other mixes). Most of our saddles are semi qh/qh bars. QH/Semi QH bars usually have the higher pitched angles.
  The FQHB tree (usually 7″ gullet) is often used for the “Bulldog” Quarter Horse or horses with broad backs and sometimes mutton-withered Quarter Horses. The FQHB will usually have a flatter pitch than the QH/Semi QH bar.
  Arab saddles are for Arabians they have a narrow (usually 6 1/2″ – 6 3/4″ width) gullet like the Semi QH but a flatter pitch angle like the FQHB – sometimes flatter yet, than the FQHB.
  Gaited horse bars have a higher gullet for high withered horses. They usually have a wider gullet front that narrows towards the back to allow shoulder movement. They usually have more rock.
  Haflinger saddles (7 1/2″ gullet) are great for Haflingers or short backed mutton withered horses. Often have the flatter pitch and very little rock.
  Draft Horse bars (8″ gullet), are for the large Draft Horses.(example- i have a 15.1 quarter horse mare. She is stocky but not super beefy. Her saddle has a 7″ gullet.)

  You’ll know you have perfect fit when you saddle sits perfectly level on your horse’s back and doesn’t bounce when he’s moving. Pressure is centered at the saddles’ middle.

  I didn’t get all the details I would have liked to in here but i have to run out for dinner so I will add on later. Hope this helps for right now.

  Thanks

   
• 

  Cheryl Gallian says:

  March 1, 2010 at 12:18 pm

  Hi,
  I have a 10 yr. old quarter/appy cross mare that I purchased last Sept. (09). Before winter I was able to trail ride her 1-2x’s a week. During Dec. and Jan. just a couple times a month. When I have ridden her by the barn, during the time I’ve had her, she is very hard to get moving faster than a slow walk. I know she is testing me – little kick-outs or bucks while I’m on her back when I ask her to walk. It scares me and I don’t want to push her because I’m afraid she’ll really dump me. I don’t know how far I can go in asking her to get moving. She definitely walks forward nice when going on trail. Well, a couple weeks ago I took her out on trail for a nice ride in the snow with my neighbor and her horse. Everything was going nice, we were half way through the trail ride, until all of a sudden she started throwing a tantrum with some bucks. I landed on my back (didn’t hurt myself thanks to the foot of snow) and she just stood there looking at me. Now it was at the point on the trail where we sometimes started to canter (up a small incline). I’m thinking maybe she was acting out because she wanted to canter up it while all we were doing on our ride is walkng? Anyway I got back on and took her out the following weekend. I held a tighter rein this time since last week I had a very loose rein on her. She acted out again here and there on the trail, but nothing where I lost my seat. But it is scaring me – I’m becoming afraid of her because I don’t want to fall off and I never had to deal with this before – we used to own older Tenn. Walkers before we had kids. I know she needs more riding time, but I’m at the point where I have too much anxiety about getting on her. She’s very quiet on the ground, not a fast horse, and doesn’t move a muscle while grooming and tacking. I guess I’m just disappointed that she isn’t a type of horse that you can let sit for a while and then jump on and go. Is that unrealistic in my thinking? We are having a sand arena put in this spring and I was thinking of having a trainer come to my house and tune her up to the point where she’s safer and I feel comfortable riding her. Is this possible? Could a horse be really safe after more riding time if they have dumped someone before? Lastly, I started to take her for a walk around the block yesterday and when we got a couple houses down she lifted her tail straight up, snorted, and started to do this (don’t know the right way to describe it), but it was like a slow trot (holding each foreleg up for a second before she put it down and lifted the next leg) like she was a show horse or something. It looked cute, but I didn’t know what to do! It started to scare me. She wasn’t acting scared or pulling on me. I just don’t know what to do. I just want a nice quiet trail horse (and she was that in the fall) and a nice willing participant in the arena when I cannot go out on trail. Do you think she’s too much horse for me? Thanks for any suggestions.

   
• 

  admin says:

  March 1, 2010 at 8:56 pm

  This is for the quarter/ appy cross mare.

  First let me say that I commend you on your courage to come out and admit that your horse scares you. That seems to be the hardest part for horse people to admit. Thank you for being honest.

  Lets start first with saddle fit.
  Have you changed equipment or has your horse lost or gained weight. If you horse is refusing to move forward at from the walk she may be telling you that she is uncomfortable. Check that your equipment is fitting properly and isn’t pinching her somewhere. White hairs that have grown in under the saddle area is a sign that her saddle is pinching her. Once you’ve ruled out saddle fit then we can go into the behavior issues. If its is saddle fit i suggest finding a good saddle fitter to help you. If you do change your equipment please know that this may not change your horses attitude right away. It could take her a while to realize she is comfortable again.

  Behavior
  Here is one key maneuver to remember.
  One rein emergency stop.
  Take on rein and pull your horses head around until her nose touches your foot. This move ensures that your horse will move only in a small circle rather than going forward. This maneuver can also be called disengaging the hind end. Your horses hind end is its power house and is used to propel the horse forward. If you can disengage the hind end then your horse will no longer be able to travel forward. When your horse stops moving and gives into the bit pressure then release the rein. You may have to repeat the one rein emergency stop a few times to get your horse to stop moving and stand still.
  Where will the one rein stop help me?
  Examples:
  If your horse bolts on you; find an open area to start circling your horse down into a a one rein stop.

  If your horse is kick out or wanting to buck you can use the one rein stop to disengage the hind end. If you have control of your horses haunches and your horses feet then they can’t kick out or buck as hard (or at all).

  The one rein stop has been a life saver many times for me. There is a great video on you tube. Here is the the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmpDSbXPtzU

  Check it out. Its a great video on the one rein stop.

  So if your horse starts prancing and wont stop, use the one rein stop to disengage the hind end and get control on the feet.

  Also,
  Snorting is a sign of being uncomfortable with something in your horses environment. She may have been looking at something that made her nervous. The prancing and tail raising can signify the same thing. So I think its safe to say that her reaction was a response to fear.

  The one rein stop also helps to get your horse thinking about you and your wants rather than what she is scared of or what she’d rather do. Practice the one rein stop to make sure that your horse understands it completely before you take it out on trail.

  I think you should seek the help of a knowledgeable trainer in your area to help you. An arena will be a great addition to your training and will give you and you and your trainer a safe place to work.

  You must remember if your horse pitches a fit you must not let her get away with it. If you ask your horse to trot then she MUST trot. If every time you ask her to go she kicks out and you don’t make her, then you are in turn, trainer her to kick out when you ask her to move forward. If she kicks out or attempts to buck you have to make her uncomfortable for doing that. Let her know it was inappropriate by asking her to go again harder and with more force. You can use a crop or continue with harder leg pressure. (Or spurs but only if your horse is spur broke). If you give up before she moves forward then she has been taught to kick out or buck or throw a temper tantrum. Be patient and kind but use as much force as needed to get the right answer. As soon as you get the correct answer then QUIT asking. (No more legs, spurs, crop, voice etc.) The release of asking is the reward for doing the right thing. Read the post above yours about pressure and release. It will help. Pressure and release is the key to training any horse.

  Do I think you horse can be safe?
  YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

  Your horse has obviously learned that she can get you to quit asking by acting up. I do think that your fear plays into her bad behavior. A good trainer will be your key to success. If you cannot overcome your fears. She can definitely be a wonderful horse. Don’t give up on her yet. Even a horse with some behavioral issues can be a great horse.
  I’d like to touch a little on usage of reins. I believe all horses should be able to be ridden on a loose rein. Especially trail horses. Your reins are not a safety device. If your horse wants to dump you, it will! It is more likely to happen if your hanging on to your horses face. It is not comfortable to have a piece of metal in your mouth and then to have someone yanking on it all the time. Be very light with your hands on the reins. I tell people you can pull but don’t yank. There is a difference. A horses mouth is sensitive. The more you hang on the reins the more your horse could act up and learn to ignore your aids. Holding onto your reins too tightly will only make it worse.
  Arena work sounds like what you and your horse could use. I hope your able to find a great trainer to help you. I hope this information helps. If you need more advice please feel free to ask. All in all…DON’T GIVE UP. I’m sure with the appropriate training she can be a safe reliable mount.

  Good Luck

   
• 

  Cheryl Gallian says:

  March 3, 2010 at 1:32 pm

  Hi, just wanted to thank you for your quick reply and help. THANK YOU! I didn’t think of the one rein stop, I didn’t know it could benefit the bucking horse. Thanks again.

  Cheryl

   
• 

  admin says:

  March 4, 2010 at 9:09 am

  Cheryl,
  Please keep me updated on your progress. I’d like to know how it works out for you and your mare. If you have any questions in the future, please feel free to ask. Thanks so much.

   
• 

  Maggie says:

  March 5, 2010 at 9:40 am

  I have a 7 year old Paso Fino (Gelding). I am having trouble with two seperate issues. The first one is the fact that he gets his feet trimmed every six weeks and absolutely refuses to stand for the farrier. He actually wants to sit instead of stand. He also cannot stand to have his feet picked.
  The second issue is he cannot stand to be bathe. He is terrified of the hose and/or spray bottle.
  Any suggestion would greatly be appreciated.

   
• 

  admin says:

  March 6, 2010 at 10:53 am

  This is for the 7yr paso gelding that is having trouble with trimming and bathing.

  Maggie,
  First we have to determine if he is scared or just blatantly being uncooperative. This will change our training methods. (This is for the trimming and having is feet cleaned)

  If he is scared-
  We need to teach him that its ok to pick up his feet. We will start slowly with the front feet. You will apply pressure to ask him to pick up his foot. When he moves his foot, even if its just a little, then we will release and give him a pat. Do this several times until he licks his lips, lowers his head and looks comfortable. (It may take 100 times so be patient). Once you get him to understand that once you apply pressure he is to move his foot then we can go to applying pressure until you get his foot off the ground and then release. Again, you may need to do this 100 times until he gets comfortable with it. When you have a comfortable horse with just picking his foot up for just a second then move to 2 seconds then 3 and so on. When you start getting him to pick his foot up for longer periods of time then you want to start patting the bottom of his hoof (then release). Pick it up again and pet his lower leg (release). Do these two things a lot. When you release, stand up and pat him and walk away and come back. The release of your presence right next to him will give him the idea that he is doing to right thing. When you start getting into holding his foot longer he may start to fight you or lean on you. Don’t let him get away with it by letting go. If you let go he wins. Wait for him to stand still and then immediately release and let his leg back down. The release will come when he stands still. We start small and work our way up instead of fighting him initially because we want him to understand that we only want a small response. If you let him figure out the little things like just picking his foot up for a second rather than 10 min he will know that he will be released. Work your way though the steps and he should stand still. Do each leg one at a time until he understands each leg individually 100%

  If he is just being a jerk then the training is different.
  If he has a blatant disregard for what you want then that has been trained into him. He has figured out that if he fights enough you will give up. Have him on lead rope and get a whip handy. So when you go to pick his foot up and he starts hopping around you are going to drop his foot and make him move. Get after him and make him go go go. 30 sec. Then ask him to stop and pick up his foot again. If he stands for a sec then release and pet him and let him know he did the right thing. Remember start small. Pick it up for a sec and if he stands for a sec then release. Work your way up to 10 min. The goal here is to reward him for standing still by releasing his foot and letting him stand. If he doesn’t stand still then you are going to make him uncomfortable by making him work work work. He will eventually go I’d rather stand still on three feet than run run run on 4. Be forceful to make him uncomfortable but don’t beat him up until he is scared to death because then we’ve made picking up his feet scary rather than just a more comfortable place rather than having to run around. Reward even the smallest attempts to be still. I like to let my horses have a few seconds after doing something good to soak in it. Soaking is letting you horse have time to think about why it was right. Give your horse time to soak in the right answer but don’t give him time to soak in the wrong answer. If he does the wrong thing then you will make him work.

  Hope that helps out with the feet.

  As far as bathing goes this is typically your horses’ response to being afraid. I don’t think some treats here could help you to get him to understand that the scary hose is a good thing. Hold the hose (off) in front of him. Don’t touch him with it. Let me touch it with his nose. (This could take a while). When he touches it with his nose than give him a treat. Do this over and over again until he wants to touch it because he will get a treat. When he is happy with that then start to sack him out to the hose by rubbing it on his neck then all over his body. Sometimes the hose itself is very scary even without the water. So desensitize him to the hose with no water coming out first. After he is good with the hose rubbing him all over his body then you point it away from him and turn it on for a split sec. Then give him a cookie. Do this until he is comfortable with the hose being on but not spraying him. Once he is good with that then we will start very low at the hooves. Spray him really quickly on one hoof. Give him a cookie if he stood still. Build on that spray him a little longer and a little longer on his lower legs. Here is the tricky part. Your horse needs to stand still for you to release the pressure of the hose. If he starts dancing around then you are going to keep that hose spraying on his lower leg. The second he stands still then you will stop spraying him. He will start to understand that if he stands still you will release. The release is the reward. He will begin to understand that standing still will be rewarded and if you don’t just attack him with the scary hose but rather teach him that it will go away eventually if he stands still then he will learn than it wont hurt him and begin to enjoy baths. It must be something enjoyable but it will never be that way if it is always scary. Same general idea goes for the spray bottle. I’d start with a spray bottle of water because you will go through a lot of spray when you are waiting for him to stop and stand still.

  I hope all of this information helped. Just remember that release is the reward so start small and reward small correct responses with a release of asking.

  Keep me updated on how it all works out for you. Be patient these are some difficult things for horses to understand because they are typically fear responses which can be difficult to teach a horse to understand.

  Good luck

   
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  Cheryl says:

  May 11, 2010 at 1:45 pm

  I want to be clear on something: bits without shanks (example: snaffles) are they for mainly direct reining? Bits with shanks (ex. Tom Thumb) are they used mainly for neck reining? Basically my mare rides western, with a Tom Thumb bit, but she doesn’t neck rein very good so I tend to direct rein her. My concern is direct reining her only while I’m riding her in an arena using that shank bit. Should I put a snaffle on her in the arena?

  Thanks much!!

   
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  admin says:

  May 11, 2010 at 4:42 pm

  I would like for you to read this article about the Tom Thumb bit. It explains perfectly the problem with the tom thumb.

  Tom thumbs are a bit used for neck reining. I would say if you are direct reining your horse you should use a snaffle. I would say that if you horse will respond to an egg butt snaffle or a full cheek dee ring snaffle that would be the best choice for direct reining. They are much less severe and can be more forgiving of heave handed riders.

  Again, please read the article that I have pasted the link to below. There isn’t a better explination out there for the tom thumb bit. Read it a let me know what you think.

  http://www.todayshorse.com/Articles/TroublewithTomThumb.htm

  Thanks
  Cassandra

   
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  Cheryl says:

  May 15, 2010 at 11:18 pm

  Thanks Cassandra,

  That was a very informative article! I already ordered a full cheek snaffle. I cannot wait to try it on her. Thanks again. Cheryl

   
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  Cheryl says:

  July 2, 2010 at 10:32 pm

  Hi Cassandra,
  I was wondering if you do this or know of a trainer that comes to peoples property to work their horses? I am having trouble finding someone to come ride my horse consistently. I live in DuPage – West Chicago.

  Thanks,
  Cheryl