Winter Training Goals

I am resolved to teach my horse a few things this winter. On the To Do list are:

1. Hobble breaking
2. Don't pull back if your face is caught
3. Stand there if you're tangled up in something, a combo of # 1 and 2

Now that I have admitted that my 19 year old horse is not hobble broke and will pull back if she gets her rope caught over her head, I'm going to go about fixing it.

For the hobble breaking, I have no delusions of being able to pack in the mountains with my horse and hobble her at night. She's smart, and I'm quite sure she'll figure out the 3-legged hop in no time. I want her to learn to stand still if she gets her feet caught in something.

Not understanding this concept no doubt led to the nasty leg gash she got last year. I'd much rather she stand patiently to be rescued rather than thrash about.

There's some rope hobbles I can borrow, and on a day when the arena is free and nobody wants to ride, I'll hobble her and let her figure it out. Hopefully she'll take it well. If not, well, that just means hobble breaking is LONG overdue.

As for the poll pressure training, I'm thinking of letting her loose in the arena for periods of time with a halter and lead rope on. Just let her drag the rope, step on it, get caught and figure it out at a time when it's okay. Like, not when she steps on a rein by accident and proceeds to freak out.

I'm fully expecting panic and freaking out on this front, so I went on ebay and bid on a few stiff, nasty, cheap old halters and leads that I don't care if she trashes. If I don't win them, I'll go to the discount tack place and get the cheapest thing I can find.

I really just need a stiff lead rope. I've got a rope halter already that fits her well, so no chance she'll put a foot through it. If I can't get a stiff lead off ebay, I'll get a cheap cotton one and make it stiff. Soaking it and dragging it through the dirt should do the trick. It needs to be stiff so she doesn't get tangled in it. For extra safety, we'll do the hobble breaking first.

.....

One might be wondering WHY a 19 year old horse has not been taught these simple concepts before. Well, there's a simple answer.

I'm an English rider and grew up and English rider. We simply don't do that type of training. It was NEVER discussed in ANY of the lessons, horse camps or clinics I went to. I'd never heard of hobbling until I went horse camping as a teenager, and even then I thought it was only for use when there was nothing to tie to.

Now I know it has other, far more important uses like teaching the horse to chill out if he gets his feet caught in/on something.

As for giving to poll pressure, most English people just don't care as much about ground manners. If the horse pulls back, instead of teaching him to tie we just don't tie him. Doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, but we put up with dangerous things and shrug it off with a "he just doesn't do that".

Well, screw that. I don't want my horse to flip and break yet another lead rope if she gets her rope caught on something. I try to tie correcty, but shit happens with horses and you turn your back for a second and they've managed to hang themselves.

I'm tired of watching and worrying, so I'm going to teach my horse to chill out and lower her head if she finds it caught. Actually, I'm not going to do anything of the sort. I'm going to let her teach herself to do that.