Training babies….

[jen judkins]

@LStone 3270 wrote:

Hello all,

I have a question for the group. I have a 2yo Belgian filly in April. I’ve had her for 9 months now. She came “halter broke” and since she has been at my place including an episode in the trailer on the way home, she’s had a hard time proving it to me. I try to be conscious of her fear and demonstrate patience when she is tied by taking my time, using a lot of contact etc. but she overreacts by violently Jerking her head up and jumping backward, in a reaction to motion and shadows etc. She is breaking halter hardware, lead ropes, crossties etc. I started her in harness and she is the same way in the blinders as well.

I am afraid I am going to have more problems as she gets bigger and stronger. She hasn’t pulled down the barn yet but I believe it’s only a matter of time. Other than that she’s a real keeper.

Larry, I think you are right to be concerned. In my experience this can be a tough problem to fix, once it is well established. If she pretty reliably does it whenever tied, you probably have a better chance of fixing it, especially if you put the time in. If she does in very sporadically, it will be tougher, IMO.

I have recieved all sorts of advice on this topic. Some say they wouldn’t own a horse that can’t stand tied and would say to tie her to something sturdy in a halter that won’t break and hope she doesn’t kill her self learning to give to the pressure. I don’t particularly like this approach, having witnessed a Polo pony actually end his life in this manner tied to a trailer. I guess I just like horses too much to stomach that particular outcome.

If she pulls back pretty reliably, you can teach her to give to pressure by simulating tying. You need a post or something to wrap the lead rope around a few times, enough so she feels like she is tied, but with enough give, that it slides. You hold the other end where you can regulate the amount of pressure she feels. I would do this with a rope halter that won’t break. Apply pressure as she pulls, release when she puts her head down (or tries to at first). This will simulate the ‘cowboy’ method above, but will allow you to let her go if she really gets to fighting you and you think she is in trouble. It also allows you to relieve pressure in increments, so you can reward her slightest try at first. I would start this in a quiet setting so you can get your point across without anything really scaring her and then as you see she is responding to pressure more reliably, you can add some distractions and such that she would normally respond to….but escalate slowly…if you get to the point where you have to let her go, you’ll have to start from scratch.

Needless to say, this training starts with leading her around the barnyard. If she is pushy on the lead…pulls or pushes you around….I would fix that first, as this is generally the root of the problem. I spend alot of time having my youngsters give to all sorts of pressure and this pays off when they find themselves in trouble with the fence or step on their lead by accident and so forth. The earlier you work on this the easier it will be later, as you can imagine.

If she only sporadically pulls back, you might be better off just tying her in such a way that she can free herself in an emergency…just to save on tack and her neck. I use the ‘blocker ring’ with my TB who I have given up triing to cure of this vice. He does it so infrequently now that I just live with the fact that he will occasionally pull back. I don’t want him to get hurt and I don’t want to constantly replace halters, so this works for us both. The blocker ring is a device that you clip the lead rope into and it allows the rope to drag through. Its enough drag to make the horse feel like they are tied but it gives if they really pull hard on it.

There are alot of other techniques, but I think the key is to make sure she gives to lead rope pressure in the more routine things like leading and handling in general. Maybe someone who has cured a draft of this problem can weigh in. Good Luck. Jennifer.

[LStone]

Thanks Jennifer,
I guess I’ll be doing it the hard way. She can be fine most of the time. she tries to backing out occasionally in the tie stall or bathing etc. but those I can control by stepping her up. If I leave her alone in the stall she is fine there. It is usually associated with motion like when I am ducking under her chin or something grabs her attention and surprises her. She is good standing while not tied but I think generally it may be a trust thing. I guess I have to get rid of the big bad boogie man. I seem to be successful using extra slow movement and a lot of physical contact. I guess it is just a matter of time maybe.

Thanks
LStone

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