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Page Three |
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| Again in this picture Dusty is only 2 months old and I am using an old rug to do confidence training. Some people do this " Sacking out", to keep their horses from shying and being afraid of objects that are foreign to their every day activity. | ||||
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I use the rugs and sacks, but let them go to them, and walk on them, stand on them and have them on their back. I never hit the horse with the sack and rags, or things to spook them. Why first of all scare them before you want them to not be afraid. Let the colts explore and find out for themselves, that that monster will not hurt them. This will make the horse have a great deal of courage and self-confidence, and realize the handler will not hurt them. | |||
| I touch them a lot, and speak in a soft and gentle voice and praise them all of the time while I work with them. I never run at them, jump at them or make the sudden move or hurt them. You can watch the colts while you work with them their movements, their ears, forward, their relaxed body, and their attention to you. This will tell you you are winning and never tire the babies out. They are young and need to be taught only what they retain at that session. Then start again the next day. |
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These pictures will show when he first saw the rug, then closer, and was shown it would not hurt him, but look at that head and ear set. He was questioning this big object and finally decided, "Hey this wont hurt, I’ll just walk on it and over to the other side back to safe ground." Notice the ears again, this is not completely relaxed and confident, a little bit not wanting to do it, but willing to try. | |||
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We are now working with Cameo and Carob, two 8 month old fillies who are getting their first taste of a two-horse trailer. They will be taught to step up into it, load, stand, and then slowly, very slowly back out without being hurt or scared. Two-horse trailering is very important in our training, as we feel not all people have slant load trailers, and it is a very different experience to back out of a trailer. |
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Do not force or fight a young horse to trailer. It takes hours and patience, but the end result is a reward that is hard to express. It does not hurt to let them know there is feed in the trailer and it wont hurt them. |
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| I usually walk into the trailer with them, and stand very close to them so they have no fear, as they have trust and confidence in me and feel safe. I let them stand in the trailer for a while before backing out. |
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| Trailering is a very important part of their training, so they are not afraid, and hopefully never have to experience hurt in loading and unloading. I never rush a horse to trailer, as they will show fear, if you try to force them. Be Gentle, they will work with you, and they feel your actions and emotions. | ||||
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Please contact C.J.'s Walkers for more information. |
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