"Get in the barn!"

Twohorses

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I can't ride anymore (ten minutes up and down the drive is not riding for a hard core, old trail rider:)

I spend a lot of time, with my two remaining horses, doing what I call "useful Liberty work".

The Feels Like at 7:00 AM is 12 degrees (F). Exceptionally cold for my area of the Southeast U.S. Not a time to be following a horse around because you weren't paying attention to the barn door <----dear husband:)

So the ornery Big Guy went out the man door, into the yard, lollol. No big deal because our entire property is part of an old cattle farm and still has all the perimeter fencing. It was only a big deal in principle because DH, after 16 years of horse life with me, still doesn't pay attention 😕

Rusty went around the outside of the barn to the other end --- with DH walking along DIRECTLY behind him --- what would you think the horse is going to naturally do, with a human behind him, lol. I'm watching all this from the kitten window,mwhile getting dressed to go rescue my HORSE:):)

I never made it to the barn --- in the end, somehow-someway DH remembered I always use the phrase "get in the barn" and the horses almost always listen on the first command.

By golly, to DH's amazement when he asked Rusty to "get in the barn", 16.1H Rusty calmly walked all the way around the barn, and walked back in the barn,mthey the same man door he walked out of, lollol.

I love my horses and wasted no time pointing out how they actually will listen as long as the correct command is given. But I gotta say,mRusty has been shut in since six PM last night, we still have sorta green grass (January is winter for us) and that was asking a LOT for him to "get in the barn" :) Thankfully DH plied Rusty full of treats and he then went back to eating his morning hay.

I have used basic dog commands that I learned taking my guard dogs to school, have successfully modified some of them to train the horses over the years and they have paid off a few times.

And here's Rusty, The Big Guy, because I have not posted pics of any of my critters yet. He will be 25 in April.

The solid red chestnut with the Blowing-from-the-fan-Farrah Fawcett mane is my IR horse Joker. I almost lost him when he foundered in 2012. This pic was summer 2018 on his 23rd birthday.

Both horses are Tennessee Walkers.
 

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SEL

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I can use 'stable' as a command for militaire. He's usually pretty good but has gone awol through open gates sometimes. Always with a cheeky look on his face so i know he understands where he is supposed to go, just choosing to be naughty!
 

Shady

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Lovely horses TH
I always say '' get in your house'' to one of mine and if there is a little resistance I add '' NOW '' in my best school marm voice. He always thinks it's ok to just linger around outside whilst the other goes in sweetly and I know he is just winding me up, the miserable creature!!!
 

Annagain

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The other night I was getting the boys in. I let M through the gate, because he can be trusted to go straight to his stable and pushed the gate closed behind him while I put headcollars on the other two.

I normally put A’s on first, then T’s but T was closest to me so I started putting his on. A took the opportunity to nip round the back of T and nudge the gate open. It wasn’t the end of the world as he would go to his stable eventually after a tour of every stable to say goodnight, but instinctively I said very sternly, “Don’t you dare go through there.”

To my amazement, he stopped, turned round and stuck his nose in his head collar!
 

CMcC

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Lovely horses TH
I always say '' get in your house'' to one of mine and if there is a little resistance I add '' NOW '' in my best school marm voice. He always thinks it's ok to just linger around outside whilst the other goes in sweetly and I know he is just winding me up, the miserable creature!!!

I say “get in your house” to mine as well. They all do as they are told.

One Christmas I had a bad cold, I managed to get the stables all ready in the day then sent my husband out at about 6pm to get the two I had then in. I told him to just open the two stable doors then open the gate and they will put themselves in. Max 5 minutes job. When he was not back after 25 minutes I staggered outside to see what was happening. Two crazy ponies running up and down the yard, I just stood at the gate and said, “get in your house” and they immediately went into their stables. Much to husband’s astonishment. Guess I forgot to tell him the magic words.
 

Peregrine Falcon

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Mine self load and "park" themselves. We get back from a ride. Jump off, run up stirrups etc and tell the ponies to park. They go back to their headcollars and wait to be untacked. I can leave my mare "parked up" in a school whilst sorting out my son and his nag.
 

Twohorses

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I am enjoying all these stories -- especially the husband stories :):)

For some reason, some of them see the need to re-invent the wheel -- mine is at the top of the list for that, when it comes to the horses:)

There are good reasons why he has been grounded from riding my horses since 2002 and why the only things he is allowed to tow are inanimate objects, lollol
 
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