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Re: [RC] Early handling - Truman PrevattHeidi,I think you have hit the nail on the head. I had seen enough what I call "problem children" with imprinted horses that when our last was born I decided to do the minimum we needed to do early so we could handle her - but otherwise let Mom and Aunt Rosey teach here to be a horse. After awhile she was with the geldings - reintroduced one at a time and by the time she was 3 months she was a herd horse. When it was time to wean at 6 months - some of the herd went with the Mom and some stayed with Aunt Rosey and the filly. As a result I think of learning herd dynamics and pecking order and with the careful hand of Aunt Rosey, Karma was very easy to train to do just about anything when the time was right. Karma was very easy to train, but on the other hand Karma did not respond to the typical canned training routine the we hear so much about. You didn't tell Karma what to do or bully her into doing it, you explained to her why she should do it and she was fine. Every horse is different but I think in general the key is they first must become a horse - not a puppy dog or robots ;-) . Truman heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: There is considerable difference between individuals and even between family lines with regard to the "need" for early handling or not. And quite frankly, I'd rather deal with an UN-handled horse that has been in a herd situation than one handled too much and spoiled, or one that has been raised in "solitary confinement," even if it has been handled. The herd teaches basic respect, and the unhandled horse from a herd is used to the concept of having a place in a pecking order, so to speak, so is usually quite willing to accept the fact that you are the boss mare, if you have any clue about how to BE the boss mare. -- “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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