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[RC] Was... Hard to Shoe Mare...no....training tools - Tracey LomaxDiane wrote: Congratulations to you and Pete for your patience and respect for Toc's
fear.
Thank you, Diane. As the older RC members will attest....I have a
LOOOOOOOT of respect for Toc's fear (and temper, and everything else
that goes with it :))
It sometimes amuses me to hear folk say "you don't ride the horse, you
ride the mind", but adopt a different approach on the ground.
One of the best "training tools" I ever invested in is a hammock, which
lies between two trees in my paddock. I can't tell you the number of
"lightbulb moments" I've had, lying there, watching my horses in the
herd, and how they relate to each other and to me. I've picked up that
my livery is one-sided and terrified of having a horse on his left side.
We thought he was head-shy from being beated as a youngster. Now we
only work with him from the right and he has no issues. I suspect that
his eyesight is bad, and we may have picked this up with time, but we
noticed it on day 2 at the yard just by watching him with the other
horses.
I've also noticed that Toc has been moved down the pecking order in the
herd by my new horse. I suspect that it's partly age, and partly that
he's now semi-retired....Barney is my top horse and the other horses
know it. I'm now careful about the way I work with them when they're
together - I cant' give Toc too much attention or Barney nails him in
the paddock, so we do "our time" when we're on trail. These "little
things" go a long way towards keeping your horses happy and you
stress-free.
Tracey
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