| Author | Post |
|---|
Callie
Member
| Joined: | Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 53 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 04:07 pm |
|
Conscent is a very important concept for me. I wan tthe horse to conscent to my requests, I want him to want to partner with me. Imprinting goes against the grain for me because it is forcing the foal it a big way and at a very traumatic juncture in its life to begin with. "make the right choice easy and the wrong choice hard" sort of thing, In imprinting there is no choice for the horse. So that is what really rubs me the wrong way about the technique.
There was a study done at I believe Texas A&M where they imprinted one group of foals, did not imprint but handled daily another group of foals, and I believe there was a third group that recieved nothing beyond the initial wellness check. They were handled for a while (acouple weeks maybe?) then everyone was turned out for several months. They found no difference in the acceptance of the imprinted foals to the stimulus they tested (fly-spray, clippers I can't remember exactly) then the non imprined but handled foals, though both groups were I think slightly better (but not by much) than the unhandled foals. (I may not have all the details exactly right, but the no difference in imprinted foals was the result)
Scott- I am impressed with your willingness to try the technique and see if it could work for you. I admit I never tried it on my own foals, by the time I decided to breed a few I had run into enough problems with clients horses that I didn't do it, besides my objection on principal.
-Callie
|
cyndy
Member
|
Posted: Thu Apr 5th, 2007 08:56 am |
|
| i have imprinted foals. but, i think the biggest thing with any horse, from foal up to a mature horse, is frequent handling. grooming, cleaning the feet, stroking them over ever part of their body. have you ever noticed a foal you had to treat a lot from a injury or sickness becomes the most gentle foal that year? i believe it is because of the time spent with them. it is amazing what the horse can understand if you can be a state of trusting and respecting you. like ray hunt says "keep them out of trouble". it seems if they don't know or trust the human well, that is pretty hard to do.
|
Vida
Member
| Joined: | Thu Apr 12th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 12th, 2007 01:37 pm |
|
Hi all,
am new to this forum although used to read it years ago. This thread is great timing as I'm currently doing similar things with my 4 year old gelding - sat on him lightly last year as a 3 year old about 10 times just asking for walk, turns, stops and back for about 5 minutes each session (bareback in a halter) and this year will be a little more intensive in the ground work before hopefully starting him just on trail lightly by the fall if we're ready.
About a month ago I made a list of things I thought were important in our foundation and will share some that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread yet or in the articles on this forum. I have also nabbed some of yours that I hadn't thought of yet!
Rope flicking over, around and on body.
Wind horse up with rope around body and then ask them to follow their nose as you unwind.
Tie for periods of time.
Accept hosing.
Backing over poles.
Go over mattress.
Walk through narrow gaps.
Set up narrow spaces with barrels (just slightly narrower than the horse's body and ask to go through and knock them over.
Set barrels on top of each other and ask to walk through higher narrow spaces.
Ask to go through barrels on top of each other in a too narrow space and knock them over.
Go through belly high grass.
Accept umbrellas.
Ride through hanging sheet.
Throw balls from rider to ground person and back
Swing polo mallets, ropes.
Vida
|
zenjane
Member
| Joined: | Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Minnesota USA |
| Posts: | 3 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 15th, 2007 10:59 am |
|
| I think doing a lot of ground work is great for young horses, but I think some of the things you are thinking of asking him are pretty intense for a young horse. Some breeds are less flappable than others, but if you have a sensitive horse you may want to save some of those scarier things for next year. You don't want him to get in a wreck and destroy the trust you've already built up. If you still want to do the bottom half of your list I'd suggest doing it with another horse AFTER letting him watch the other horse go through the whole course at least once or twice. JMHO!
|
RaBo
Member
| Joined: | Fri Mar 23rd, 2007 |
| Location: | Indiana USA |
| Posts: | 20 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 15th, 2007 06:02 pm |
|
| Really good advice about using another horse! I've tried this myself & have found it to be very helpful, nothing like utilizing their natural herd instinct as a training aid.
|
Vida
Member
| Joined: | Thu Apr 12th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 16th, 2007 12:33 pm |
|
Nah, an extensive list is only as good as it's handler and the particluar horse you're working with. I need as many ideas as I can get as the horse I'm currently working with is a total curiosity and play monster and is always looking for things to get into and play with. The more the merrier in his mind! Here's some examples. The first time we walked past super long grass while walking around my property, he took a flying leap into it (I had no idea he'd do this as my intention was just to go for a quiet walk) and he had a blast exploring in there and didn't want to leave from there. Luckily I had a really long lead line he could explore in there while I kept tick free! The first time we walked past my raised vegetable garden (about 2 1/2 feet high) he wanted to stop and sniff it and then tried to get on top of it. The first time I let him sniff the kid's trampoline, he tried to pull it apart with his teeth and then tried to get his front legs onto it. The first time he saw a mounting block, he tried to climb on top. He loves getting his feet on things including the other horses. They get annoyed as he drives them nuts sometimes as if they won't play with him, he puts his front feet over their backs and stays up there and bothers them walking along on his hind legs until they can shake him off and then chase him. For the very tall horse, he just grabs his tail and pulls him around sideways until he gets annoyed enough to chase him. Very curious, very inquisitive, very brave and absolutely loves life and the more you can do with him, the happier he is.
And he loves to play. His favorite game is to be a big thief. When I have my stuff out and he goes near it, I usually growl at him as he steals everything and takes off with it. When I tack up the other horses, I don't usually tie or stall and everybody just mills about. The minute I turn my back, he quickly nabs something and then takes off with it then shakes it at me from me afar daring me to come and get it! When we're done with our work sessions, his favorite game is to pick up a lead rope and play tug of war with me. I think he tries to flick it at me just like I have at him when he gets too close into my space!
Don't get me wrong. He's probably not going to be an easy horse by any means under saddle as his mind goes a thousand miles a minute and he's a smart little guy. He's not one of those that just accepts anything. Right now, he accepts things only at this stage because it entertains him and he finds it fascinating. I'll have a hard time trying to think a step ahead of him so we don't get into trouble and I'll have to super wary of noticing instantly the minute his mind switches under saddle away from me. So right now, the more we can do, the better. And right now, things are super easy because he's loves doing anything and thinks it's all his idea. Gradually I'll switch things here and there and ask him to comply with my ideas too without a fuss when he's not so keen on it but I'll need to do it carefully as he has a wonderful spirit that I don't want to squash so my goal is to meet in the middle by the time we're finished with our foundation on the ground.
And yes, I do have a wonderful teacher in my herd. He was just like the horse I'm working with now 20 years ago! I've used him alot over the years to teach horses things (and to teach me!) without a fuss and so far haven't had to use him with this young guy yet. But I do have them in pasture together so he can teach the young guy his tricks of how to handle life without getting flustered about things. We will though soon start using the old guy when it comes to road riding, cars and trucks etc. This young guy is actually going to be my riding replacement for the old guy as he can't do the really rough and steep trails anymore. So me and my old man just cruise the easy trails these days relaxing together enjoying the sights and sounds.
|
Current time is 05:01 am | Page:   1 2 |
|
|
|