How to keep young horse sane

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NELSON11

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Hi, what would others recommend to stimulate an extremely highly strung 3 year old who had started his ground work, long reining/lunging,accepting tack etc and then goes and strains his tendon sheath which results in all work ceasing at the moment. He likes a job and is much less quirky when he has his mind occupied. So all in all he is totally bored and then this is when the devil comes out of him.
 
Could you not practice your trailer loading/unloading and take him to the local club for a bit of practice? Introduce him to new places at the yard where he hasn't been before so he gets to see as much as possible whilst young. Let him explore new things and play with them if appropriate. Teach him to back up correctly, maybe set up a labyrinth in the school with poles and get him to walk through it moving him from side to side so he learns to move away from the pressure of your hand. That's not actual work as such and wont hurt his leg. Maybe put his tack on and walk him around in it so he is used to it on a daily basis. Fold a shavings bag up really tiny and move it over his body gradually opening it up so its bigger. This will densensitise him to objects that rustle. Teach him to lift his feet up when you touch his leg. There are lots of things you can expose him to without running the risk of working a bad leg or running into problems. Trouble is as he is such a handsome big horse I imagine its quite daunting to show him things that could cause a spook but then I guess the more he is exposed to spooky things when young the better able he will cope when older. There are always people around to help you should you require any help.
 
Thanks Applecart, you know him so well
smile.gif
 
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