Horses!

[Farmgirl283420]

How is everyone doing today? I am currently bored and couch bound due to a nice chunk of wood going through my shoe and into my left foot last night while I was putting out hay. I am angry only because I can’t go brush the horses. Picture is of my dog Gimli cuddling my left leg today and yes I am using a Spider-Man blanket my boys insisted I use one of their blankets lol
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Hope you feel better soon!

He is a Shetland Sheepdog
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Your dog is so cute! Thanks for sharing pictures.

 

[ShrekDawg]

He is a Shetland Sheepdog
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@BigBlueHen53 look!!!!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How is everyone doing today? I am currently bored and couch bound due to a nice chunk of wood going through my shoe and into my left foot last night while I was putting out hay. I am angry only because I can’t go brush the horses. Picture is of my dog Gimli cuddling my left leg today and yes I am using a Spider-Man blanket my boys insisted I use one of their blankets lol
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Shoot, Wisps, sorry to hear of your injury! Hope it heals quickly. But you have an awesome nurse attendant to comfort you, there is NOTHING like a Sheltie to love you to wellness!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Shoot, Wisps, sorry to hear of your injury! Hope it heals quickly. But you have an awesome nurse attendant to comfort you, there is NOTHING like a Sheltie to love you to wellness!

 

[calicocows]

I have a question for you guys! Fancy went to a show over the weekend with a different person and apparently she was biting everyone. The barn owner asked me today if she bit me and I told her no and we chatted a bit. It got me thinking how do you guys correct a horse that is biting you? The barn owner and her rider corrected her and she was fine with me today. But it made me curious how other people respond to a biting or nipping horse.

i know a lot of people that smack horses for biting, but also for snapping at the air or whipping their head around in a "i might bite" way. i don't like that they do that.

 

[calicocows]

I've gotten to go riding thrice this week!!! It's been super super fun, and I've really seen how much I've grown and improved in the last month or two. I also apparently have a much stronger right leg than left, as well as long femurs proportional to my height. Funky!

 

[Farmgirl283420]

I've gotten to go riding thrice this week!!! It's been super super fun, and I've really seen how much I've grown and improved in the last month or two. I also apparently have a much stronger right leg than left, as well as long femurs proportional to my height. Funky!

Yay! Which horses are you riding right now?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have a question for you guys! Fancy went to a show over the weekend with a different person and apparently she was biting everyone. The barn owner asked me today if she bit me and I told her no and we chatted a bit. It got me thinking how do you guys correct a horse that is biting you? The barn owner and her rider corrected her and she was fine with me today. But it made me curious how other people respond to a biting or nipping horse.

I used to help as a volunteer at a therapeutic riding stable in SW Colorado, and one of their best horses had become a biter. He was a grey named Steel and the director was afraid she might have to drop him from the program if she couldn't get the biting under control, as the volunteers were becoming afraid of him. The director, knowing I trained dogs, asked my opinion and advice on the matter. As far as possible I like to use non-confrontational techniques where the animals basically train themselves. After some thought I said I would lead Steel that day. I held a horseshoe nail concealed in my hand which I held next to his head while leading him, in a normal position. About a quarter inch of nail protruded from between my fingers. When Steel swung his head at me, he jabbed himself on the nail, not deep enough to harm him, but enough to feel. He tried it again maybe three or four times, then kept his head forward although he rolled his eyes at me a few times. (He'd bitten other volunteers on the breast hard enough that no one wanted to lead him any more, so we had to put a stop to it.) But we weren't done yet.

When I turned my back to assist the rider by adjusting the stirrup, I was ready for him. This was another of his tricks, he would bite you in the ribs. I had my nail handy and had my arms folded, so he got it in the nostril when he swung his head at my back. He snorted and threw his head up but didn't try it again. But he had one more bad habit.

When you went to loose the girth, he'd grab a big mouthful of your back pocket. That hurt! But again I was ready for him. This time I had the nail in my left hand and my hand in position next to my hip. He swung his head at me HARD - and got the nail on the upper lip right between the nostrils. He actually hit me so hard he knocked the nail out of my hand and I had to scramble to locate it. I walked him around some more to cool him out and he kept his eyes front like a good boy.

About a month later I asked the director about Steel's biting habits, and a look of amazement came over her face. "Oh that's right," she said, "Steel DID used to bite, didn't he?" Apparently he was cured, never knowing when he might smack his face against a sharp point but no longer willing to gamble.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I used to help as a volunteer at a therapeutic riding stable in SW Colorado, and one of their best horses had become a biter. He was a grey named Steel and the director was afraid she might have to drop him from the program if she couldn't get the biting under control, as the volunteers were becoming afraid of him. The director, knowing I trained dogs, asked my opinion and advice on the matter. As far as possible I like to use non-confrontational techniques where the animals basically train themselves. After some thought I said I would lead Steel that day. I held a horseshoe nail concealed in my hand which I held next to his head while leading him, in a normal position. About a quarter inch of nail protruded from between my fingers. When Steel swung his head at me, he jabbed himself on the nail, not deep enough to harm him, but enough to feel. He tried it again maybe three or four times, then kept his head forward although he rolled his eyes at me a few times. (He'd bitten other volunteers on the breast hard enough that no one wanted to lead him any more, so we had to put a stop to it.) But we weren't done yet.

When I turned my back to assist the rider by adjusting the stirrup, I was ready for him. This was another of his tricks, he would bite you in the ribs. I had my nail handy and had my arms folded, so he got it in the nostril when he swung his head at my back. He snorted and threw his head up but didn't try it again. But he had one more bad habit.

When you went to loose the girth, he'd grab a big mouthful of your back pocket. That hurt! But again I was ready for him. This time I had the nail in my left hand and my hand in position next to my hip. He swung his head at me HARD - and got the nail on the upper lip right between the nostrils. He actually hit me so hard he knocked the nail out of my hand and I had to scramble to locate it. I walked him around some more to cool him out and he kept his eyes front like a good boy.

About a month later I asked the director about Steel's biting habits, and a look of amazement came over her face. "Oh that's right," she said, "Steel DID used to bite, didn't he?" Apparently he was cured, never knowing when he might smack his face against a sharp point but no longer willing to gamble.

Incidentally, I got this idea from a horse. I had a 30-ft round pen in a sandy area in NW NM and after working the horse for a bit, she'd get a bit sweaty and want to roll. But we had these weeds that grew in it called goatheads. They were small but very sharp and uncomfortable if you ever got one in your foot. Well, Crystal would lay down to roll and get right back up with her side covered in these nasty little goathead stickers. I felt sorry for her, but she just shook and they fell right off. She never laid down in the round pen again. And every horse I worked in that round pen learned the same lesson. So I used the tip end of a horseshoe nail as if it were a goathead.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Incidentally, I got this idea from a horse. I had a 30-ft round pen in a sandy area in NW NM and after working the horse for a bit, she'd get a bit sweaty and want to roll. But we had these weeds that grew in it called goatheads. They were small but very sharp and uncomfortable if you ever got one in your foot. Well, Crystal would lay down to roll and get right back up with her side covered in these nasty little goathead stickers. I felt sorry for her, but she just shook and they fell right off. She never laid down in the round pen again. And every horse I worked in that round pen learned the same lesson. So I used the tip end of a horseshoe nail as if it were a goathead.

Oh wow