This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I have been happily lurking and reading the digest form, which
fits better into my jam-packed lifestyle. The discussions about treats
causing bad behavior, and the handler being mobbed, etc. disturbs me.
it's not the treats, but the lack of discipline that cause bad behavior.
Horses function fine (like kids) when they know what the limits are. When
they are allowed to keep pushing the boundaries and the human says "Oh,
well, they can do it this time. . .": that's when the trouble starts.
What I do (and your comfort level might dictate different rules) is I
feed
treats at two times only. One is first thing in the morning when I go out to
say hello, I give hand-offered apples dispensed out of my pockets, and believe
me they wait politely and don't push, shove or jostle. If they did that would
be
the end of treats for the day. When I am in the pasture with a bunch of
competing horses, and the treats are all gone, I hold up my hands (like a
holdup) and say in a stern voice "No More!" They immediately stop asking,
because that's the end and they know it. The other time I feed treats is when
the horses have been untacked after riding or driving and are in their
individual
stalls, and I give a half an apple each. So they know what to expect and what
they are allowed, and when they have gotten their exact number of pieces.
I learned this principal from a woman I met at a driving clinic, who was
handling and harnessing a pair of homebred Shires, by herself. I asked how
they were so well behaved and how she had managed to handle a breeding
stallion
by herself. She said she would take him out of the stall and say "Now take
baby
steps," and that huge stallion would take little mincing steps, because he
knew
if he misbehaved at all, he got put back in the stall and didn't get to breed
the
mare that day. Discipline is good. It saves them from themselves. You don't
want to let a 1200 lb. horse get the idea he/she can push you around. The
result of no discipline, is a horse that cannot find a long-term home, and
will end
up at the slaughterhouse. So in the long run discipline is preferable to
spoiling.
Sorry I went on so long but I would like to see your Fjords rewarded
occasionally, and you can do it without producing a behavior problem.
Alex Wind
Harmony Springs Farm
Shawsville, VA, where it is misty and cool and the leaves are turning.
