♞Equestrian Chat Thread!♞

[LilJoe]

$600 for an 8 yr. old Quarter mare? What's wrong with her? Sounds mighty cheap; be careful!

They're just trying to get rid of her because they don't have the time for her.... It does sound odd, but they say she stands and picks up he hooves for the carrier and is trained/broke.

 

[kwhites634]

They're just trying to get rid of her because they don't have the time for her.... It does sound odd, but they say she stands and picks up he hooves for the carrier and is trained/broke.

Maybe it's all good; I hope so. I'd still want to ride her & have her vet checked, though. Hope it works out for you.

 

[kwhites634]

Wow, that's terrible.

That's why when I get horses I intend to train every single one of them to lead by a hind foot AND be hobbled. So they don't panic and try to rip free if they ever get their foot caught on something.

Lead by a hind foot? That's a new one on me. Can you enlighten me?

 

[quackingdom]

Lead by a hind foot? That's a new one on me. Can you enlighten me?

It's basically just teaching them to respond to the pressure of a rope tied around their hind foot (and front, too). Obviously it's only something you'd do on a horse that already has a good foundation and responds to normal pressure easily.

So if you were standing behind the horse holding the rope tied to their hind leg, and you pulled, the horse would pick up the foot and back up. Or step sideways, if you were pulling from the side. And so on.

The Warwick Schiller guy I mentioned earlier has a short clip about it YouTube...

 

[kwhites634]

It's basically just teaching them to respond to the pressure of a rope tied around their hind foot (and front, too). Obviously it's only something you'd do on a horse that already has a good foundation and responds to normal pressure easily.

So if you were standing behind the horse holding the rope tied to their hind leg, and you pulled, the horse would pick up the foot and back up. Or step sideways, if you were pulling from the side. And so on.

The Warwick Schiller guy I mentioned earlier has a short clip about it YouTube...

Interesting! I've seen a lot of trainers, live & on tv/video, but never saw one doing that.

 

[BantyChooks]

Hey, you! Imagine finding you over here! I'll make a TWHer of you yet; still working on it.

You'll be working on it for a long time.

 

[res]

It's basically just teaching them to respond to the pressure of a rope tied around their hind foot (and front, too). Obviously it's only something you'd do on a horse that already has a good foundation and responds to normal pressure easily.

So if you were standing behind the horse holding the rope tied to their hind leg, and you pulled, the horse would pick up the foot and back up. Or step sideways, if you were pulling from the side. And so on.

The Warwick Schiller guy I mentioned earlier has a short clip about it YouTube...

I WOULD NOT recommend that you try to do this until you are VERY VERY experienced with both horses AND handling MULTIPLE ropes and lunge lines. That video looks easy enough, but I assure you, it is not. That trainer likely has years, if not a lifetime, of handling ropes and being comfortable and QUICK to respond appropriately.

Multiple ropes on a horse, especially ropes around a pastern, can turn into a disaster in an instant that cannot be controlled that ends up with a dead horse and possibly human. Nothing brings out the flight reflex in a horse like something entangling and "holding" a foot that they cannot escape from.

Is it a handy thing to teach a horse? Sure. Is it necessary? ABSOLUTELY not. Can a horse be a good solid citizen WITHOUT this training? Millions of horses already are... Personally, I would not risk this training unless I KNEW that particular horse needed it for it's job - like a pack horse, driving horse or roping horse... and even then, it isn't absolutely necessary.

 

[Better Than Rubies]

Maybe it's all good; I hope so. I'd still want to ride her & have her vet checked, though. Hope it works out for you.

That's smart advice!

I’ve loved horses since I was two or three years old. Unfortunately, so far I’ve only had the opportunity to ride twice in my life. I hope it won’t be too long before that changes though, especially as our little farm grows and we get into larger livestock.

My future goal is to be a horse trainer. For now while I can’t ride, I have to satisfy myself by watching videos, especially horse training ones. By far my favorite trainer I’ve encountered so far is Warwick Schiller. Have any of you ever heard of him? He has a lot of great videos for free on his YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WarwickSchiller/videos

I like how clear everything he says and does is, both to viewers and to the horses. They respond quickly, because they understand him. I like his philosophy, too—fixing the root of the problem, rather than the symptom. He explains the basic principles of horse training very well, too.

What are your favorite horse quotes? Some of mine are

“Whoever said a horse was dumb, was dumb.”

“My horse are my friends, not my slaves.” - Buck Brannaman

Horse training: “It’s never, ever the horses fault.” - Charles Wilhelm I think?

I watch Warwick Schiller some--I've subscribed to his channel, too, and I really like the way he does things, too, and the way his horses trust him so much/his relationship with them.

 

[PouleNoire]

I'll have to check out Warwick, haven't heard of him until now.

 

[quackingdom]

I WOULD NOT recommend that you try to do this until you are VERY VERY experienced with both horses AND handling MULTIPLE ropes and lunge lines. That video looks easy enough, but I assure you, it is not. That trainer likely has years, if not a lifetime, of handling ropes and being comfortable and QUICK to respond appropriately.

Multiple ropes on a horse, especially ropes around a pastern, can turn into a disaster in an instant that cannot be controlled that ends up with a dead horse and possibly human. Nothing brings out the flight reflex in a horse like something entangling and "holding" a foot that they cannot escape from.

Is it a handy thing to teach a horse? Sure. Is it necessary? ABSOLUTELY not. Can a horse be a good solid citizen WITHOUT this training? Millions of horses already are... Personally, I would not risk this training unless I KNEW that particular horse needed it for it's job - like a pack horse, driving horse or roping horse... and even then, it isn't absolutely necessary.

Good points.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any chance my future horses will be in horse-safe fencing. So I do want to teach it, eventually. I think the most important thing to be sure of before trying this is that the horse is ready, and to start slowly with something the horse is already comfortable with.