How do you teach.....

[Halfpass]

.... a young horse to pick up feet, tie up etc.

Sorry its me again, I'm just warning all of you there are going to be thousands of these posts from me. I feel i'm just stabbing away blindly with everything I do with my girl and I'm never 100% sure if i'm doing it right.

With feet picking up i try to bend her at the knee she then picks up but only for a split second then slams it down. Behind I tend to pull the leg forward but she does the same again. With tying up she no longers pulls bakc just does not stand still. I'm attempting to do pressure and release with her but again its all gues work. I popped a little fleece on her this evening and walked her round the school with it on. She didn't flinch at all. Oh yeh and she has stopped jumping out of the stable!!

Also want to give her some sort of supplement to ensure she is getting all round vitamins and minerals etc. Would something like Topspec feed balancer be suitable?

Forgot to mention have my instructor coming next week to see her and give some advice. How often do you think I should get her to come? I was thinking fortnightly would this be enough / too much?

 

[airedale]

try and make sure you put down the foot before she snatches it away - that means you are in charge of the situation and not her

if you don't actually get the feet picked out then not to worry for a few days - if she's like this then she's survived this long without them being picked out !!

the not standing still when tied is related to again frustration at not being in charge of the situation and trying hard to get back in charge - so she wants freedom to move around - you've stopped that - but she's still winning by fidgeting.

Again - do something nice when she stands still and stop as soon as she moves - so if she has a nice scratching place then scratch away all the time she stands and stop as soon as she moves - start again when she stands - stop as soon as she moves

again - you are then becoming in charge of a situation and not her.

with the feet - make sure you do all 4 even if she hates it - she's learnt to snatch away sometime and so you'll just have to persist.

 

[Ginn]

Tilly was a bugger to tie up to begin with. A haynet or feed, patience and short periods are a good starting point. It does come and often quicker than you might expect!

As for picking feet up - a trick that has never fialed me yet is squeezing the chestnut a little - just be ready for the leg to come up quick. Make sure you support the leg firmly when its up and if she snatches it down a firm no and picking back up again will give the message but alway remember to praise when she gets it right and waits for you to allow the leg down - even if its only up for 10 secs to begin with she must learn to wait for you not snatch.

I was in your exact position a year ago but you learn things very quickly. As long as you are firm and consistent and always praise when praise is due it will come in no time.

Feel free to pm me at any point!

 

[Tia]

With the feet-picking, honestly it is not important whether you manage to get any dirt out of them at the moment; what is important is that you can teach her to lift her leg and keep it up there until you have finished.

When you have managed to lift the front leg, take it backwards and not forwards; before she tries to throw it back down to the ground, hold it up firmly above her knee point. Even if you have to lift it up to her elbow that is fine - the higher it is the less power she has to pull it back down. Just hold onto leg for a few seconds and then release and put it back down on the ground. It won't take her long to figure that there is no point in struggling with you as there is little she can do once that leg is up there.

When you are doing back leg you may find it easier to pull the leg backwards and not forwards and again lift a little higher than you would do on an older horse - what you are trying to do is find the path of least resistance.

With tying up - never leave her at this stage. Talk to her a lot and just rub or scratch her in her favourite spots. Never leave her tied for very long as she will become bored quickly. Little and often is the trick. Eventually she will learn that if she stand still whilst tied up, things are done quicker. Take her to task in a firm but gentle manner if she does fidget - teach her the word "stand" - this helps enormously....although in the early days may only last a short while, so try to pre-empt her moving and untie her before she does. My personal advice would be NEVER to start feeding her when she is tied - she will expect this all the time if you do and it often makes a rod for your own back. Horses don't need to be "treated" by any other form than affection and scratches.....particularly not young horses.

I wouldn't feed a balancer, but each to their own, I would just give her a broad spectrum supplement.

Every fortnight sounds perfect for your trainer to come to you. It is enough for her to give you training tips on which to practice with your horse. It isn't long enough so that if you are struggling with something then the problem can be rectified within just a few days.

Good luck and have fun. Remember we all do things differently and what works for some of us may not work for all of us.....but sometimes these different ideas are worth a shot!