This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > "jen frame" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 2). She is overweight and the wonderful woman I bought her from kept a > grazing muzzle on her during the day, and dry lot at night. She does > not have a cresty neck, nor any scary fat pads at her tail head or > over her shoulders, so I am wondering if I can take the muzzle OF her > since she is much happier grazing.
If the previous owner had a grazing muzzle on her, and you still think that she is overweight, I would probably leave the grazing muzzle in place. Yes, Fjords are much happier if they can eat more---but their metabolisms are geared to save every spare calorie for later. If you decide to try a period of time without the grazing muzzle, first measure her heart-girth (just behind the withers and elbow) and rib-girth (widest part of the ribs), and record it on the calendar. Then, redo those measurements under the same conditions (same time of day, same stance, etc) every week. If you see the numbers trending upward, then she's getting too much grass. In general, it is far easier to keep a Fjord's weight down than to try to take the weight back off, again! > 3). She gets REALLY PUSHY when I give her treats, so I think I will > stop giving them. But the question is: is this pushiness a > Fjord/coldblood thing, or just her individual personality? Fjords will generally be just as pushy as they think they can get away with. She is checking out where she fits in your hierarchy. Be aware that, if you aren't the Boss Mare, she will take on that role. Some Fjords are naturally polite about treats; others have to be taught the skill. If you're worried about your fingers, get a small cheap pair of pliers, and use that to deliver treats. It saves wear and tear on fingers, and gives the equine some feedback that the "fast chomp" technique has drawbacks. Or, feed treats via the grazing muzzle. My husband's Fjord gelding was a treat snatcher for years. With his grazing muzzle in place, he can only get the treat if he nibbles delicately at it as it comes in thru the hole at the bottom. (He gets a piece of a horse cookie for putting his muzzle on in his pen, before going out to pasture, and 1.5 hours later, another treat for coming to the barn door to have the muzzle taken off as he goes back into his pen.) When we got past the high-sugar grass season this spring, I stopped using the grazing muzzle for the summer---and found that he continued to gently nibble his treats, vs snatching at them. > 4). I don't clicker train my other two horses (they are Tennessee > Walking Horses) but am wondering if Clicker training is for some > reason a particularly great thing to do with Fjords? Fjords are highly motivated by food! One thing to be aware of is that Fjords generally have more subtle body language than you may be used to in other breeds. You will have to watch them more closely, to see the beginnings of a "try". And, you may have to "tone down" your body language around them, to keep from "challenging" them more than you intended. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon The FjordHorse List archives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
