Re: fence crasher

[Linda Cowles <linda_cowles@mentorg.com>]

cms@fluent.com wrote:
> may also want to take him for a walk along each fence line, stopping from
> time to time to let him get his whiskers near the fence, or if you're brave
> enough, letting him get zapped (I'm a chicken about electric fences). If
> you have any stable mates for him, I would urge you to turn them out
> together or in adjacent pastures as soon as possible, as they will help him
> figure out the boundaries as well AND increase his security.

This is great advice, especially the suggestion to introduce the horse
to hot wire.

Shatirr knew "touch it with your nose" command because when he would
spook at something, he couldn't leave it until he'd touched it to prove
that he'd excepted that it wasn't bad.

With hot wire... geeze, I'll probably get creamed with flame mail... I
took him up to the fence, then faked touching it, sprung back from it
proclaiming "HOT!!!"... I did it two more times... he was watching, and
was **VERY** interested!
 
Then... "HOT, Shatirr!!!! Hot!... Touch it with your nose!" ... as guilt
flooded every cell in my body...

He found out the meaning of the word "hot". Now, if I say a carrot is
"hot" he'll stand and drool, but if I have the power to make a fence
sting him like that, no telling what a carrot will do...

Gavilan will test hot wire with his whiskers... I watch him do this. He
could graze through the fence at our old place when it was off. If I
took the charger down to repair the fence, I had to clip the clever
little bugger.

Also, with Gav, it didn't matter how big or small the enclosure was, or
the type or material of the fence... he knew that if he could get his
knees clear, either the fence would come down or his body would slide
over the top.

When I lunged him, it was at a section of fence he couldn't clear. After
he refused a few times, I taught him to refuse at other spots too. Spots
he **could** clear.


  Linda  - Gilroy