Hello everybody :)
I have recently joined the university and I am finding all the posts and videos very helpful but I am a little bit stuck, in march we took on a 3 year old rescue cob she had been very badly treated and very under weight so we have spent the last couple of months letting her gain weight we have also been getting her used to being touched and groomed which she now excepts and seems to really enjoy she has become strong when leading her so I wanted to start leading and ground work exercises with the dually but my problem is the school at our yard is a 5 minute walk away and where her stable is situated is where everybody at yard parks there cars so pretty hectic there any suggestions how I can take her to the school safely I wasn't sure if I should school her on the way to school if she gets strong even though I haven't done any schooling with the dually yet?
Wendy
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Horse Behavior and Training
A little bit lost
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Welcome Wendy :-) everything is a schooling opportunity! But you are right to be cautious. watch the Dually video over and over again - practice a lot! Start in the stable with gentle pressure and release so that she understand the feel of the Dually and you begin to understand RELEASE. Then try standing still with the stable door open (an open door is not her cue to go). Then go in and out of the stable using the Dually to school her. Next, pick a quiet day when there are less people and cars (there must be a quiet time, even if it has to be 5am the first time!) and quietly walk her to the school..and progress from there...Keep us posted :-)
Thank you Vicci
I have been doing bits and pieces with her she will stand in stable with the door open until she is asked to come forward she will stand with door open whilst I put head collar on, now I only have to make a clicking sound for her to come forward out of the stable she will stand still whist I touch her legs as before would kick out as soon as I touched her legs. When we first got her I asked a horsemanship trainer to come and see her cos I wanted to start off on the right foot and I'm a little annoyed as she told us not to work with the dually and if she had too much energy on the lead to walk her in a circle but now I have a pony that if gets spooked on the lead will run around in front of me in a circle cos this is what we've taught her and unfortunately before I started using the dually I walked her to the school and I have to walk passed other paddocks and one of the other horses charged at the fence at her snorting so going to the school hasn't been a good experience for her maybe I should do it in stages instead of trying to get there in one go?
Hi Wendy & Lola, Vicci has given excellent advice as usual. Could you ask the yard owhere if they could let you have another stable without so many cars around, so you can then do some basics with the dually outside (as & when you both feel ready) with the distractions that brings explain that you dont want to risk either injury or damage! At least until you feel that the horse is not so strong. I have a similar problem but luckily they're visiting the family, but it is annoying having to lead babies out of the yard when your trying to teach them they can go out on their own ridden to the school!
Hi tiggy
Thank you for your response but unfortunately all the stables are in what I would describe as an L shape around the yard and parking is in the middle so on busy times we have to lead in between the parked cars fortunately she is very good with this it's the walk to the school she is not good with, then she jumps around and calls to the other ponies for the entire walk- will she grow out of this as she gets more confident?
Hi wendy, yes..the downside of the "circling" method - I know some people use this but I don't like it because of exactly what you say; panic makes them run round in front effectively "running away" rather than trusting your judgement and leadership. Now, you have added a bit more info that is crucial - jumping around and calling to the others suggests a level of seperation anxiety; all the more reason to be using the Dually to say "You are not with that herd now, stop calling to them, I am your herd now, stay focused on me and trust what I am doing". My friend has a little stallion, beautiful boy but he steps out of the stable and does his calling, prancing, and dancing, which is fine if there's a mare around to be served but not when he's just going for a walk. A few backward steps and a bit of backwards and forwards on the Dually soon reminds him to focus on me.Hope that helps :-)
not a useful comment but the stable layout sounds like an accident waiting to happen! Is there any room behind the stables for cars to park?
On the contrary Beryl, I think you are right to pick up on it, I agree; it's an accident waiting to happen, or at the very least some whacked wing mirrors!
Welcometo the Uni. Wendy. The dually will really help you out here if you can learn to use it effectively and with Vicci's excellent guidelines. Unfortunately your stable set up does sound disastrous for a young horse in training. Is there any chance of moving to a more suitable environment? If not perhaps you could try to get the support of some of the other users with a partition to the managers to have the cars parked elsewhere.
Hi Wendy & Lola
I would try to help you with two advices:
1. I am. feeling that you are afraid of the walk just thinking on it. You take this fear with to your horse. Be patient and calm to transfer this feeling to the horse. I made this experience because my horse is on a farm for children. You can imagine what is going there when 10 or more children finished the lessons, their horses are in stall and I come with my horse just in the moment the children are picked up by the parents. I have to make sometimes a slalom with the horse between children, parents and their cars before I reach the field! be focused on your horse think only positiv and your horse will be focused on you!
2. Try to use one of Monty's Points in his book "From my hands to yours" Distractibility can be succesfully used to train a horse. Try to show him a carrot while you are walking through this tumult of cars and people. The horse will remember the bad time having less weight and will be focused on carrot and ignore the cars. Or feed him in stall and calm him down while outside is "heavy traffic"
Hi
Thank you everyone for all the advice it has been very helpful, and yes milenco you are quite right I am nervous of the walk and I have taken all the advice on board and have had a great couple of sessions, as Vicci suggested I found a quiet time and today we walked not all the way to school but to the scary paddocks where a horse charges the fence line and my little Lola remained calm and focused didn't even blink so I praised her and left it there so we ended on a positive note also I lifted her legs for the first time today without any reaction at all as before she has bitten me or tried to kick out so wahoo feeling great but must remember baby steps but all the help has made me feel much more confident so can't thank you all enough
Wendy
Well done Wendy,
I hope all goes well for you. x Beryl
Great to hear Wendy! Remember to breathe and talk to your horse as that will help you to relax and the dually will do the rest once you have done some training with it.
Wondrful Wendy, onwards and upwards now :-)