- Apr 16, 2010
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So there is this young horse at are barn....she is about 4-5 yrs. old. She can be ridden and groomed/handled. But sometimes she doesn't like her face being brushed or rubbed by a rag or a small brush. Its not that she is scared of the brush/rag she just doesn't want it on her face. She will throw her head up in the air and back up when you try to brush her. One person at my barn says to grab her halter and pull her head down and kind of release when she puts it down and put pressure on it when she pulls up. Which usually turns into a fight because the horse is still young and then there is some screaming and the person got lifted off their feet once. But I tried a different way the other day. My way was to take the rag and hold her halter and talk to her slowly/quietly and when she pulled up on her head I still held on to the halter but I didn't pull. Then I held a small treat in my hand and put it about 8 inches away from her nose. Then she put her head all the way down and relaxed. I let her smell the treat but didn't let her have it until she let me rub her face with the rag. I did that a second time and by the third time I didn't give her a treat at all just petting her and telling her good girl for the reward. By the third time she stood quietly, didn't put up a fight and let me rub her face....she didn't even pull once.
Now I don't know if my way is like spoiling her with treats or is okay. Is it spoiling her? Is the other way better? I know I've heard a lot about getting a horse to know you are the leader and have complete control over the horse and force them to do what you want. And the other person's way (that forces her to put her head down without the treats) would be getting her to know you are the leader. But I do know that in the time it took for me to do my COMPLETE way the other person would have still been fighting with her, yelling at her and making the horse scared. So which way is better??? I don't want to spoil the horse.....but I don't want to fight with her either.
Now I don't know if my way is like spoiling her with treats or is okay. Is it spoiling her? Is the other way better? I know I've heard a lot about getting a horse to know you are the leader and have complete control over the horse and force them to do what you want. And the other person's way (that forces her to put her head down without the treats) would be getting her to know you are the leader. But I do know that in the time it took for me to do my COMPLETE way the other person would have still been fighting with her, yelling at her and making the horse scared. So which way is better??? I don't want to spoil the horse.....but I don't want to fight with her either.