A good trail horse does
not try to snatch the reins out of your hand to plunge her head down to graze.
Your horse can graze freely when her work is done!
gets annoyed and acts up. That’s probably because he’s used to get ing his way and when he acts up, you relent and let him go back to eating grass. He’s actually trained you to allow him to behave the way he wants! It will take some time to retrain him, but you can do it. If picking his head up causes him to act out, put him to work. Make him circle, back, speed up or change direction. Make the right thing (walking quietly without eating or acting out) easy and the wrong thing (snatching food off the ground and acting out) harder. Most horses learn pret y quickly to go along with the easy choice. I know it’ll take some work and vigilance
to reform your horse, but once you do, the two of you can be more relaxed on trail rides and have more fun. When you get back to the barn and untack him, then you can turn him out somewhere to graze. T at way he’ll still get to eat some grass—but it won’t be during work time!
CAUTION!
“In the beginning, your horse won’t know your expecta- tions, so you’ll have to teach
him. And he may be surprised at the change in your behav- ior and test you a few times
to see if you really mean what you say. Be consistent with
him, and he’ll catch on quickly. Walk off with him next to you. You’ll need to be relaxed so he stays relaxed. If you stop moving and he doesn’t stop
moving, then pick up on your lead rope, stop him, and
back him up several steps. T en lead him off again.”
Since it takes time to answer the behavior column questions and there’s a delay be-
tween when you post your question and the magazine comes out, please seek professional help if your horse is displaying a dangerous behavior that could get you or someone else hurt. T e majority of dangerous behaviors are linked to physical problems that cause pain or to poor training, so work with both a veterinarian and trainer to determine the cause of your horse’s dangerous behavior and fi x it.
24 | November 2012 •
WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US
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