Oh yes, I make
sure the horses can't get their heads stuck in them. I gather up the closed end,
tie it with hay twine, and hang it on the fence or stall bars. They can get
their nose in if they try really hard, but, the open end is always loose
for them to pull out of. Inside the stalls, I weave large beet pulp bags thru
the bars, and they really like to play with & smell those. The
bags also make lots of noise when they pull on them and sometimes they
pull them down & stomp on them trying to get something out of it.
I have been
known to tie milk cartons onto my saddle (in the round pen), starting with just
one, then, when they're accustomed to the noise & bouncing around of
that, adding another. I did plastic bags on the saddle, too. Gets them
ready for carrying a bouncing scoop and rain slickers. I had to do all these
things when I got a mustang who was (not anymore) very spooky & would bolt
at the sound of a snapping branch or a bird fluttering. She rarely spooks
anymore and doesn't bolt if she is scared, just does a small
side step.
Kathy
Grass Valley, CA
Denise wrote:
She spooked on
me from my rain poncho I forgot to introduce her to. She bolted and I
couldn't stop her. She ran straight through a barbed fence and we went down.
Thank gosh for those helmets!!!
So, we are starting to do some of this
spooky stuff again. I like the tarp idea with hay on it. I think I will try
that. Also, the feed bags as well. Do you hang the feed bags so they don't
get there head stuck in them? I will be careful with that one...tehehe. Don't
want to spook her out of the pasture blindly...jeezz. That's all I
need.
