When leading any horse or pony, it is a good idea
to hold the lead rope with your fingers curled towards the ground
and your knuckles facing up towards the horse’s head.
This is because, to a horse, your fingers and nails represent the
claws of a predator, which can for some horses cause problems when
leading.
Another point to consider is to hold the lead rope with two hands.
One at the end closest to the horse’s head and the other
at the loose end. This then allows you to still be in control if
your leading hand loses the rope.
As a general rule of thumb, the ‘leading hand’ is the
hand that you write with, as it is usually the stronger and more
dexterous of the two.
It is important that your lead rein is not held too closely to your
horses head. Horses are naturally claustrophobic animals and will
be driven by their instincts to avoid the situation.Always ‘push’ rather
than ‘pull’ when leading. You can tell when you are ‘pushing’ as
you will feel pressure from the rope on the side of your little
finger on your leading hand. The idea is for you to walk together,
not drag each other along! If the start to barge forward hold on
to the rope as normal and with your free end make slow and small
circles by swinging it in front of and level with your horses’ chest.
Be prepared for them to jump back but this will teach them painlessly
to stay by your side.
Your horse is your friend and should be treated as such. If you go
shopping with a friend, you don’t ‘drag’ him
or her along with you. You give each other space and in doing so
you feel comfortable enough to walk together without any pressure.
Unless of course your being forced to enter one of those make-up
and jewellery shops, lads or the bookies girls, or either of them
if you’re me.
Emma Jenkins
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There are a number of reasons why you
may have trouble catching your horse or pony. Here are a few possibilities:
Stable anxiety (this could be caused by a number of reasons that we will
cover in another section)
Trouble with leading
Separation anxiety from the herd
Fear of you. Even if you are the nicest person on the planet, a horse
can sometimes have inexplicable anxieties towards you. This is due to
horses possessing very sensitive senses, both physically and psychologically.
In the wild a horse relies on these senses every day of it’s life
in order to stay alive and stay part of the herd.
When running with the herd a small twitch of the ear from the herd leader
will be recognised by each horse as an indication to turn as one in a
certain direction. It is exhilarating to watch how one small movement
can be detected in the most chaotic of situations.
So if you imagine you’re feeling a bit under the weather, because
maybe your car didn’t start this morning and when it eventually
did, you find your partner hasn’t filled the tank after last nights
pub crawl, making you even later for work and the school run.
Your horse will be able to tell from your body language, the way you
smell and what you are thinking that something is wrong. In the wild,
these signs mean danger, so fight or flight kicks in. Stress and anxiety
levels also cause adrenalin levels to rise in your body, contributing
to the above factors.
Next time you’re stressed, take a couple of minutes to chill out
and relax before going out to catch your horse. That way your horse will
be more relaxed and eager to be with you than if you enter their field
as Mr. or Mrs. Grumpy.
A good trick to use is to leave your horses’ head
collar on with a lead rope attached. The length of the rope will depend
upon how close you can get to your horse before they decide to wander
off.
You can assess the situation day by day as to whether they are ready
to have the rope off whilst in the field, which in an ideal world would
be the case.
Other ways of catching difficult horses can be to chase stubborn horses
out of the herd if they swing their rear end round at you. Do this
by literally ‘chasing them out’. You can also use your
lead rope as part of your body by treating it like a tail. Swing it
in small circles when they turn their back on you. This is normal behaviour
for horses and they will understand you better than of you were to
stand and shout at them out of frustration. If this method works, eventually
your horse will get fed up and will turn to face you the stand still.
This is them submitting to you. Now you will be able to walk up to
them and clip on your lead rope. Praise them and walk out with them
in an assertive but not aggressive manor. This method should not be
used for nervous or timid horses.
If this technique is not right for you and your horse, another method
which may help is ‘following’. When your horse walks away
from you, walk behind them as if following their every move. If they
have their head to the left, you side walk to the left, if it is to
the right, you side walk to them right. This shows them that they cant
lose sight of you. As soon as you see them slow, stop and stand still.
Of they move again, move with them. However, if they are still for
more than a few good deep breaths worth of time, slowly move towards
them on the side you can see most of their body from. Of you see any
muscle movement stop again until they stand still. If you are a long
way off repeat the above step by moving towards them. If you are within
around twenty feet sit down calmly providing it is safe to do so. It
is always good to have some sort of treat with you e.g. an apple. Patience
is the key! Eventually curiosity will get the better of them and they
will hopefully come over to you. Let them take the treat then slowly
and calmly stand up and move your hand to their head collar. It may
work, it may not. Horses for courses!!
Food is always another good one, take food in and most horses will
be over in a jiffy. If this however is not the case and there are other
horses in the field, go to them and give them a taste of the treat
your horse could be getting. Make your stubborn friend jealous and
ignore them. Once the come over, ignore them for a few seconds then
turn and allow them the treat once you have hold of the head collar.
Praise the good behaviour and ignore the bad.
Emma Jenkins
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