Cynthia_Madden/OAA/UNO/[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Question: Getting Fjords to cross water. Tank will follow another horseFirst, be very aware of what you are teaching your horse. If you get mad and lose your temper, your horse is learning that, in the presence of puddles, you will get mad and punish him. He does not know that you are mad because he isn't crossing the puddle! Several good methods have been suggested already. I would suggest that you start with ground work with your horse, using the horsemanship method that suits you, whether it be Buck Brannaman (Ray Hunt, Tom Dorrance, etc.), Parelli, Linda Tellington Jones, whatever. You must be comfortable with the method enough not to send mixed messages to your horse. Then work on having your horse approach the puddle and reward every little try. This means that, if the horse simply shifts his weight towards the direction you want him to go, stop and reward him lavishly! You are working on establishing trust between you and your horse, which is something you need to reestablish after your last "lesson" with the puddle. You don't need to get across the puddle to win. Simply walking up to it without the horse worrying about it would be success enough for one day. You can continue on the next day. Listen to what your horse is telling you. Some of us read our Fjords' "stubborness" as obstinance. What the horse is really telling you is that he is very worried about the bottom of that puddle, and he doesn't, yet, trust you enough to believe that it's okay to walk into it. So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to develop that trust. It's not just about crossing the water! A neighbor of mine, while on a trail ride, ignored his horse's worry about crossing a puddle. He forced her into the water and ended up spending half a day digging her out of a bog. She had gone in up to her belly. She was never the same, trusty, trail horse after that, and permanently injured her back. Horses have good, instinctive, reasons to mistrust any kind of footing. We need to respect that! Once you have gained your horse's trust from the ground, you can transfer it to the saddle, but be prepared to go through the same "baby steps" again, because it will change the picture for your horse. Let your horse tell you how far he can go for the day, don't push it! Then enjoy the rest of your ride, so everything ends on a happy note! This may take some time in the beginning, but will reap great time saving rewards in the years to come!
through water and cross the same puddle once he has been through it, but
will not cross the next one he sees by himself! I'm afraid I was losing my
temper with him yesterday and we got into fights. I lost. Now I need to
recover my dignity. Give me some advice on getting them to cross water.
From Beth, Sandy and the gang at Starfire Farm in Colorado.
BDF Magnum, BDF John Arthur, Maerta and all of the non-Fjords.
Happy Trails!
P.S. - I've never had a potatoe come running when I called it!
