Tip of the Month
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Of all the cues I give a horse, the most important one, is stay. I can teach a horse absolutely nothing, if I cannot get him to stand still. I like my horses to be able to stay for 15 mintues, totally relaxed. This is not asking a whole lot of my horses, since they must stay for the farrier, one hour, or even longer. Most problems that people have with their horses are caused by the horse not understanding stay. Think about it. Now, ask yourself if this is not true. The horse is fidgeting while you are standing next to him... the horse pulls back when he is tied... the horse moves away when you try to mount... the horse walks off when you turn your back... the horse bolts and runs off when you take his halter off... the list is endless. I will even say, "Stay". after I ask him to whoa, because whoa means stop your feet, and stay means, for how long. It also means to hold the position that I put them in. Example 1... If I ask a horse to lay down, I will immediately follow by saying, "Stay". The horse will then lay there until I ask him to get up. Example 2... After I ask the horse to put his head down, I will once again say, "Stay", so I can put the halter on him. Example 3... When the horse gets in the trailer for me, I should say, "Stay", so he knows what he is supposed to do... STAY IN THE TRAILER! Can you see how this works? Stay is probably the easiest, yet most boring cue to teach. But like I say, the most important. So here we go. After you have your horse respecting you as his Alpha, put him in a halter with a lead rope. The cue you use, is not that important, but it must be different from your other cues, so you don't confuse your horse. Here is what I do. With lead rope in hand, I stand facing my horse. I lift my right arm up in front of his face, hold it straight out, and twist my hand, (much like turning a doorknob) say, "Stay" and drop my hand. Before the horse has a chance to move, I reward him and tell him he's a good boy. I will keep doing this, moving further away from the horse, and making it last a few seconds longer each time before I make it back to the horse and reward him. When I reach the end of my lead rope, It's time to get the lunge line, and continue. If my horse should move, I make a noise, which shows my disappointment, and a quick movement to startle him enough to stop his feet, and pay attention to me. I repeat the cue. If he does stay, I make it back to him and reward him. If the horse takes more than three steps, I must go back and put him in the spot that I ask him to stay in at the beginning. I keep this up until I can do it without any rope on him at all, and he can stay for about 15 minutes, no matter how far away from him I am. Be good to your horse. Dennis | |||
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