Teaching a young foal to set up

[MiniHoofBeats]

I'm so sorry I forgot if I asked this one yet...as you all know, i'm trying to train my horses by myself and I don't have a clue what i'm doing or if i'm doing it right! I've been working with my 6 month old filly for a few weeks now on how to walk, trot, whoa, and stand. So far she will walk with me and trot with me, but she's always pulling ahead of me and she keeps the leadline tight which causes constant pressure on her halter. I've tried saying "easy" and pulling her back but she's like a dog lol literally! She reminds me of the kind of dog that is so excited to be out for a walk that they'd rather choke themselves way ahead of you on the leash than to be patient walking next to you!

Any advice on how to teach her to walk calmly at my side? And to slow down her trot so she knows to trot next to me and not out in front of me? Any idea's on how to keep her from turning her body out away from me when we "whoa" ?? I've tried working with her having the wall next to her so she cant turn out but she still finds a way to squirm...those babies! =)

I am also finding this is an issue with my stallion when I work him into a trot - he wasn't taught how to trot next to people so he gets all excited and sometimes breaks out into a canter, then a hyper trot, and he does a great job of "whoa" and "walk" to calm him down but when I ask him to trot he gets all excited again and goes trotting off in front of me! I think we're making progress with more and more practice but I thought I would ask if anyone has any advice?

Thanks!!

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]Small short jerks on the lead rather than a constant tug will be more helpful. Its like when a dog is forging on lead and he strains against the collar then you cant give a correction. Frequent stops and starts. say the word whoa two steps BEFORE you plan to stop to allow for a more steady stop rather than a stop short. Dont even try setting up until the work moving and stopping is flawless. Then you can move on to the posing part. When you do get to that point.... set your back feet first and then have them step up into youwith the front. DONT ALLOW ANY STEPING INTO YOU without you asking. If the back feet move... back the horse into position again saying Stand or Halt. When I trot a horse out in halter I would rather it didnt trot right next to me but rather out behind me so that I am not blocking any of the judges view of the horse. The only time I require trotting at my shoulder is in showmanship. In halter I usually go out to the end of the lead and ask the horse to move out behind me. I have even been known to run backwards a time or two. I want the judge to see nothing but the horse in movement. Standing is the toughest thing to teach. I start by giving whoa comand and then taking a step or two away getting farther away as time goes . If the horse moves any foot I step back into it and reset it. Most of my horses will work off of body language when finished. Two of them now know that if I am directly in front of them they should have all 4 feet planted square. If I need to move one front I touch a shoulder rather than a leg. When I bend over my eyes get this snow globe thing and I dont see anything at all even when I first stand up. Thats why I have to teach everything from a standing position. If you watch trainers like Lee Crutchfield, Melinda Doan, Joel White, they always move the horse away from themselves and always stand way out from the horse. Joel just raisies his hand and the horse puts his neck straight up and out. Fabulous to watch![/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[countryrose]

Twirl the end of your rope in front of their noses when they try to get ahead of you. Don't touch them with it , just twirl ahead of the nose. Praise them when they back off and trot properly.

 

[disneyhorse]

My #1 tip with babies under... oh... two years old is PATIENCE. Remember "babies will be babies" no matter how much you work with them or how skilled you are! Have fun and post pictures too

Andrea

 

[js1arab]

I'm pretty much with Disney on this...remember to be patient and VERY repetitive. I use the short pulls also like Lyn said and I also use circles. If they see something ahead (like mom LOL) that they are wanting to get to and they rush ahead. I make them stop and turn a cirlce. If they want to charge off when we start forward again, then I cirlce again. It is a tiring process somedays, but it seems to get the point across without a lot of "pressure" on them. When I ask them to stand I usually start out by asking them to be still to be rubbed on. Once they stand patiently for that I slowly add more of the just standing part :bgrin I am one who isn't overly fond of high expectations for foal classes. Don't get me wrong. I expect good behavior. But it is my personal opinion that foal classes at the bigger shows (regional/national level) put a lot of stress on babies. It is a lot to ask of a youngster to stand up as well and as quietly as an adult and the bigger shows usually mean more travel and a greater stress load. I do like to show babies, just not at shows where expectations are too high. Again, that is just my opinion and I am sure there are many good trainers who do their best to reduce the stress, but I've seen enough who don't that I prefer to avoid making that mistake. Whatever you try, have fun doing it and enjoy that wonderful brief time that your foal is young. As with human kids, they just grow up too fast.

 

[nootka]

Yes, youngsters will always throw the "rules" out the window at times such as shows, when there is so much excitement and uncertainty.

Your best bet is short, occasional lessons and Lyn's description of training is about how I do it with the little ones.

They almost always forget everything they know and revert to being rank babies when they are in the ring, they feed on the excitement and the newness and you will just have to muddle through. They start "getting it" more and more, though, and most judges are willing to forgive these antics anyway, it's mostly us handlers that get flustered by them.

ALWAYS reinforce your personal space, though. There is nothing harder to watch than a horse that does not respect its handler's space and knocks them around. It can be dangerous, but more often than not, it just doesn't show the horse well and I've seen judges try to be patient with it, but I do think it can knock you down some placings in tough competition of your horse is always knocking you around and stepping all over you in the ring.

Liz M.

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, i'll try the short tugs today and see if she responds even a little! A little is more than nothing =) I understand she's just a baby and she has a super short attention span, i've been keeping our lessons short and feeling like SOME progress is going on but I feel a long ways away from being ready for a show lol our first show is in less than 2 months!

Thanks Lyn for being so descriptive, I will try your idea's and hopefully they'll work! I know very well of Joel White and boy I wish I had that talent!!!

I wish I had 4 arms so I could take photo's while working with my horses but sadly it's just me...i'm lucky if someone happens to walk out and have a camera on hand =)

Thanks!

 

[slaneyrose]

I really appreciated these pointers too. I find when I try to set up one leg/foot the other 3 go in different directions!! Any advise??