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I always thought that walking helps digestion. Same with humans.


Moving around can help break up and move gas pockets, but that's not 'digestion.'A certain amount of movement assists peristalsis, but then, so does eating or especially drinking warm things. Move enough to get adrenaline involved, and you can even trigger a sort of "emptying out" effect (ever notice that you seem to need to make lots of trips to the bathroom when you are nervous?)

A horse that eats grass/hay, but shows little interest in grain, that bites or kicks at its belly and lies around looking sorry for itelf, may have ulcers, in which case dragging it around all over the pasture can't possibly do any good.
 
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I got a really bad stomach flu... I walked and walked and walked and I really does make you feel better.
It also helps you poop (sorry, but it's true).

Lol. Yes, that true...

I always thought that walking helps digestion. Same with humans.


Moving around can help break up and move gas pockets, but that's not 'digestion.'A certain amount of movement assists peristalsis, but then, so does eating or especially drinking warm things. Move enough to get adrenaline involved, and you can even trigger a sort of "emptying out" effect (ever notice that you seem to need to make lots of trips to the bathroom when you are nervous?)

A horse that eats grass/hay, but shows little interest in grain, that bites or kicks at its belly and lies around looking sorry for itelf, may have ulcers, in which case dragging it around all over the pasture can't possibly do any good.

:thumbsup
 
First training session didn't go well....let the round pen for just a minute and when I went to go back in, realized he had his halter over his "bad" ear. He was bucking madly blocking any attempt for me to reenter the fence. I grabbed the nosebandof his halter to hold his head still while I tried to fix his ear. He jerked his head up, slamming it against the fence rail and smashing my hand against it, too. Thankfully nothing is broken and everyone is okay except for the skin peeled back on my arm.
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The first ten minutes of the session were good. He was listening well, cooperating doing a free lunge..
 
Don't let it discourage you! Id be watching lots and lots of YouTube videos on how to get a horse over having sensitive ears. In the short time that I had Phoenix he did not like having his ears touched (not as bad as your mini though) and I watched about 10-15 videos on horses with sensitive heads/ears that like to jerk away and we were making good progress with it. I like to think that there's no problem that can't be fixed. Personally that's where I'd start with your mini. If you spend a few sessions taking care of that problem then everything else from then on will be easier, at least that's what I think.
 
Don't let it discourage you! Id be watching lots and lots of YouTube videos on how to get a horse over having sensitive ears. In the short time that I had Phoenix he did not like having his ears touched (not as bad as your mini though) and I watched about 10-15 videos on horses with sensitive heads/ears that like to jerk away and we were making good progress with it. I like to think that there's no problem that can't be fixed. Personally that's where I'd start with your mini. If you spend a few sessions taking care of that problem then everything else from then on will be easier, at least that's what I think.
That's actually pretty encouraging. With everyone around me syaing he's a worthless cause it was beginning to go to my head, but I know he has SO much potential. It just has to be uncovered.
He was VERY head shy for the longest time. He never let anyone touch his face or head. Through the winter while we couldn't do much, while he was eating I'd brush him and slowly work my way up his neck to his cheek when I rubbed him. It improved the head shyness a lot and now I can rub the star on his forehead. I know he trusts me as a leader, but he's just so stubborn and still tries to challenge me and tries to scare me (with no success).
He doesne't know how to lung so I have been trying to lunge him with some success. He just keeps trying to turn and charge me. I use the whip to push him out of my circle and I don't move my feet, but he's just not obeying with that. He's ok with the whip... I don't want him freaked out about the whip, but he should have a "good fear" of the whip, if you know what I mean. So that when he sees it raised up, he should move out at command.
Do you have any reccomendations to videos that you watched? I hadn't thought to watch any videos on that, but that's a good idea.
He's very hardto catch because he's buddy and barn sour, so I have to give him some food to distract himand lock him up in the stall, tie a rope around his neck and have someone hold him while I put hte halter on. He's been getting better with that process, too.
 
First training session didn't go well....let the round pen for just a minute and when I went to go back in, realized he had his halter over his "bad" ear. He was bucking madly blocking any attempt for me to reenter the fence. I grabbed the nosebandof his halter to hold his head still while I tried to fix his ear. He jerked his head up, slamming it against the fence rail and smashing my hand against it, too. Thankfully nothing is broken and everyone is okay except for the skin peeled back on my arm.

The first ten minutes of the session were good. He was listening well, cooperating doing a free lunge..
OUCH!!

A little advice from someone who has been there, done that - when an animal is acting like its brain has completely fallen out - stay out of range! As you found out, they will hurt you, possibly without even noticing that you are there. Wait until they are at least calm enough to acknowledge your presence before you approach them. Eli is smart; he needs to know that calm, rational behavior gets rewarded, and blowing up and bucking gets him nowhere.

I hope your arm feels better soon.
hugs.gif


BB2K and I worked with our horses a bit yesterday. She started off riding Sunny. There were a few small tree branches that had grown low enough to be a problem, so she rode around to show me where they were, and I snipped them off with the loppers. We were dropping leafy branches all around Sunny; some even brushed her as they fell, and she was perfectly calm about the whole business (remember the advice - "the more you scare a horse, the less they are scared of?"). BB2K and Sunny even helped me by dragging off some of the larger stuff, and still, no spook.
yesss.gif


We didn't even try this with Latte; she was being antsy from the get-go. BB2K tried to take her on the dirt road behind our property, but Latte was being really difficult and wouldn't go anywhere. We put our heads together and decided that the point of the exercise was really the exercise, not just winning the battle (it was awfully hot for getting in a fight, anyway). Syd needed some work, anyway, so I put some long lines on her and joined BB2K and Latte. Syd and Latte aren't exactly what you'd call friends (more like rivals), but I figured they know each other well enough to be satisfied that there was another horse around, and not so distracted that they wouldn't pay attention to their handlers. I can't even remember the last time I had Syd back there, but hard as it is to believe, Syd the Man-eating Mini was better behaved than Latte. She trucked right along; a lot of the time, I was holding both reins in one hand. Syd was a bit anxious, which was evident by the fact that she was walking rather fast - in fact, there were times when Latte had to put a little hustle on to keep up with her. Latte was somewhat better behaved; there still were several refusals that BB2K had to work through, but Latte didn't get so worked up that she tried bucking or bolting.

We went up to the first well site (about a third of a mile). When Latte realized we weren't going any further, she became very cooperative; she and BB2K played around jumping a log and other stuff. Since we were heading back, Syd calmed down and actually slowed down (counter-intuitive, huh?) We walked past our turn-off because BB2K wanted to take Latte past the Arabian Horse farm (Latte has been difficult about going that way, too). Actually, they were both a little reluctant to go past that place; I suspect partly because they wanted to introduce themselves to the other horses, and partly because the pampas grass on the berm facing the road probably freaked them out a bit. Still, we got them past, and rested for a while in the shade on the other side before heading back home. And though Sunny is the only one that I think earned an A+, all in all, not a bad little excursion!
 
First training session didn't go well....let the round pen for just a minute and when I went to go back in, realized he had his halter over his "bad" ear. He was bucking madly blocking any attempt for me to reenter the fence. I grabbed the nosebandof his halter to hold his head still while I tried to fix his ear. He jerked his head up, slamming it against the fence rail and smashing my hand against it, too. Thankfully nothing is broken and everyone is okay except for the skin peeled back on my arm. The first ten minutes of the session were good. He was listening well, cooperating doing a free lunge..
OUCH!! A little advice from someone who has been there, done that - when an animal is acting like its brain has completely fallen out - stay out of range! As you found out, they will hurt you, possibly without even noticing that you are there. Wait until they are at least calm enough to acknowledge your presence before you approach them. Eli is smart; he needs to know that calm, rational behavior gets rewarded, and blowing up and bucking gets him nowhere. I hope your arm feels better soon.:hugs BB2K and I worked with our horses a bit yesterday. She started off riding Sunny. There were a few small tree branches that had grown low enough to be a problem, so she rode around to show me where they were, and I snipped them off with the loppers. We were dropping leafy branches all around Sunny; some even brushed her as they fell, and she was perfectly calm about the whole business (remember the advice - "the more you scare a horse, the less they are scared of?"). BB2K and Sunny even helped me by dragging off some of the larger stuff, and still, no spook. :yesss: We didn't even try this with Latte; she was being antsy from the get-go. BB2K tried to take her on the dirt road behind our property, but Latte was being really difficult and wouldn't go anywhere. We put our heads together and decided that the point of the exercise was really the exercise, not just winning the battle (it was awfully hot for getting in a fight, anyway). Syd needed some work, anyway, so I put some long lines on her and joined BB2K and Latte. Syd and Latte aren't exactly what you'd call friends (more like rivals), but I figured they know each other well enough to be satisfied that there was another horse around, and not so distracted that they wouldn't pay attention to their handlers. I can't even remember the last time I had Syd back there, but hard as it is to believe, Syd the Man-eating Mini was better behaved than Latte. She trucked right along; a lot of the time, I was holding both reins in one hand. Syd was a bit anxious, which was evident by the fact that she was walking rather fast - in fact, there were times when Latte had to put a little hustle on to keep up with her. Latte was somewhat better behaved; there still were several refusals that BB2K had to work through, but Latte didn't get so worked up that she tried bucking or bolting. We went up to the first well site (about a third of a mile). When Latte realized we weren't going any further, she became very cooperative; she and BB2K played around jumping a log and other stuff. Since we were heading back, Syd calmed down and actually slowed down (counter-intuitive, huh?) We walked past our turn-off because BB2K wanted to take Latte past the Arabian Horse farm (Latte has been difficult about going that way, too). Actually, they were both a little reluctant to go past that place; I suspect partly because they wanted to introduce themselves to the other horses, and partly because the pampas grass on the berm facing the road probably freaked them out a bit. Still, we got them past, and rested for a while in the shade on the other side before heading back home. And though Sunny is the only one that I think earned an A+, all in all, not a bad little excursion!
I have followed that rule a LOT. It's one of my favorites. "the more you scare the horse, the less he will be scared of". Forgot to add, I'm reading the 4-H GUIDE for Trainging Horses. Some of the stuff I don't agree with,but other stuff is good (evn though it is mostly for under saddle horses). I'm going to work on desensitizing, but not till we work on lunging and other stuff. Any tips on teaching a hrose to lunge?
 
Also, I explained to tohers that I don't think Eli would hurt me intentionally. I think he was just scared and acted without thinking. Why would you intentionally hurt yourself just to hurt someone else? is how I think.
 
Gosh I can't remember the names of any of the videos, but I know there was one that was super helpful and it had an older guy in it explaining what to do. I would just put in "horse head shy" or something along that line when you have a couple hours of free time and just start watching everything. To get June to the point I have her now, since I don't have anyone to help me in person, I watched videos until I felt like my eyes were going to fall out lol. I can't tell you how many videos I've watched. From the tiniest things like picking their feet all the way up to riding at a canter. I've stuffed a ton of knowledge into my brain since February. And I record Clinton Andersons tv show on the RFDTV channel every week. So I don't know how it'll be for you but for me it's been more research than actual training lol. And every horse responds to something different so you may have to try a lot of different things to get it right. June tried to charge too while round penning, and when I had someone out to help me with it (which I'll never do again) she bit her and tried to jump the fence, I finally kept her from charging (after watching many different videos and talking to many different people, and finally getting that advice from my cousin) by standing at her shoulder and giving her a HARD smack on the neck with the stiff part of the lunge whip. It took more than once too. But I also didn't push her too fast and only started out with walking, where as the girl who tried to help me that one day wanted to jump straight to cantering. Like I said, different for every horse. And don't let what people say get to you. I had family tell me I wouldn't be able to do anything with June based solely on the fact that she's palomino and a mare. Everyone said she'd have a bad attitude her whole life. She's the sweetest horse I've ever had (although this battle with buddy sourness is frustrating). And the girl who "helped" me round pen her that day said she was gonna be a difficult horse to train, based off of what she saw in the round pen. Ha. I've rode June at walk, trot, canter and out in the pasture and she's never not once bucked (knock on wood!), and I can sit under her stomach, stand up in the saddle, and she'll round pen off of my voice commands now. Real crazy horse I tell ya.
I think ANY horse can be trained, now I personally can't train any horse, because I'm inexperienced, but I don't believe a word people say about "crazy" horses or "unrideable" horses. Any horse (that's sound) can be broke to ride by SOMEONE. No matter how crazy. Maybe I'm wrong and too optimistic but that's how I see it. And I think you really have to pay close attention to what the horse needs as well. Like Phoenix, the rescue had him and trained them themselves, and he had some real bad habits, but they probably train all the horses the same way, since they get so many, and it probably works great for some and not as well for others. Phoenix had a bad problem where he would yeild every time you tried to mount him, he'd just spin spin spin and not give it up, and the rescue people just said "hop on while he's moving and once you're on he'll stop and be good" which did work, but when I got him home I focused on getting him to stand. When they came and picked him back up I had him to where you could flap the stirrups without him flinching or jumping and if you went real slow you could get in the saddle and he'd stand still. It was slow going and I really had to observe how he reacted to everything (because he was SPOOKY. Like you wouldn't believe) but I finally got it and it was super rewarding. That rewarding feeling is why I want to become a horse trainer, btw. Anyways, sorry I ramble! Lol
 
Oh yeah. Agree on the scaring thing. Any time I get a chance to do something loud and obnoxious around June, I take it. She's a pretty tough horse to scare. When she did spook one day (I think she may have seen a snake) it really caught me off guard, she took a big jump sideways, I gasped, then started laughing and she caught her breath and then resumed our ride. If you tip toe around them though when something scary does happen, and it will, they're not gonna know what to do.
 

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