Post by Casper on Feb 20, 2007 21:49:57 GMT -5
Herd Bound
There are two times in a horse's life when he is weaned. First from his mother and second from his best buddy when you take him trail riding! Horses are socially dependent on each other. It's a prey animal thing of safety in numbers.
Weaning a youngster from his mother can be an extremely traumatic thing if done by instant separation without any preparation. What I recommend is to progress a little at a time. Over the space of a week or two, move the foal into another corral that is right next door to his mother's. Pipe panels are great because the foal can still suckle if he wants. After a few days, move him one corral away, then two. Do the separations for longer and longer until mother and foal can go a whole day without getting too upset. The mare and the foal don't go through any trauma, no one gets hurt or sick, and pretty soon you can take them their separate ways. It's important to keep the same perspective when weaning your adult horses from each other.
The extreme example of herd bound horses tends to happen to "occasional" riders. Their horses spend a lot of time together in the pasture and get closely bonded with each other. When one is taken away it drastically affects the other's emotional security.
Preparation is the key!
Play the Seven Games (Level 1 Partnership Program) to build respect and develop more mental and emotional balance.
Start by getting your horses used to being tied for long periods of time. This means 4 to 8 hours! They learn patience quickly and soon will stand quietly. Horses that are not used to separation or being tied need to be tied more often. Start with shorter amounts of time and build up to several hours. You can tie the horse where he can still see his buddy all day.
Next, begin some short separations. Cold turkey is not the way to do it. That is how horses and riders get hurt. Take one horse away for just a moment and return. Then do it again and again until the other horse sees that he's really not gone. Be prepared for this to take many repetitions. Once they are both calm, increase the time for which one horse is out of sight. With each session push the distance a little further but always start with a short one. Begin with the horses tied near each other, and then each day increase this gap until by day seven they can't see each other at all. By doing this task, in stages, you are helping increase the horses' confidence.
Lastly, think about how you could become as important to your horse as another horse. It's easy for people to do this with dogs because we are both predator species. With horses, you need to understand their prey animal psychology and how you will have to prove yourself a worthy leader. Horses are very attached to their dominant counterpart. If you were to put on a horse suit and go into the corral... what would it take to become the boss hoss? You have to learn to think like a horse and use the same communication and dominance strategies that horses do within the herd.
This is the key to natural horsemanship... 50% of the program is about equine relationship skills.
Terms of Use | email: pnhusa@parelli.com | Intellectual Property Notice
Copyright © 2006 Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc All Rights Reserved | Photography Copyright © 2006 Coco All Rights Reserved
There are two times in a horse's life when he is weaned. First from his mother and second from his best buddy when you take him trail riding! Horses are socially dependent on each other. It's a prey animal thing of safety in numbers.
Weaning a youngster from his mother can be an extremely traumatic thing if done by instant separation without any preparation. What I recommend is to progress a little at a time. Over the space of a week or two, move the foal into another corral that is right next door to his mother's. Pipe panels are great because the foal can still suckle if he wants. After a few days, move him one corral away, then two. Do the separations for longer and longer until mother and foal can go a whole day without getting too upset. The mare and the foal don't go through any trauma, no one gets hurt or sick, and pretty soon you can take them their separate ways. It's important to keep the same perspective when weaning your adult horses from each other.
The extreme example of herd bound horses tends to happen to "occasional" riders. Their horses spend a lot of time together in the pasture and get closely bonded with each other. When one is taken away it drastically affects the other's emotional security.
Preparation is the key!
Play the Seven Games (Level 1 Partnership Program) to build respect and develop more mental and emotional balance.
Start by getting your horses used to being tied for long periods of time. This means 4 to 8 hours! They learn patience quickly and soon will stand quietly. Horses that are not used to separation or being tied need to be tied more often. Start with shorter amounts of time and build up to several hours. You can tie the horse where he can still see his buddy all day.
Next, begin some short separations. Cold turkey is not the way to do it. That is how horses and riders get hurt. Take one horse away for just a moment and return. Then do it again and again until the other horse sees that he's really not gone. Be prepared for this to take many repetitions. Once they are both calm, increase the time for which one horse is out of sight. With each session push the distance a little further but always start with a short one. Begin with the horses tied near each other, and then each day increase this gap until by day seven they can't see each other at all. By doing this task, in stages, you are helping increase the horses' confidence.
Lastly, think about how you could become as important to your horse as another horse. It's easy for people to do this with dogs because we are both predator species. With horses, you need to understand their prey animal psychology and how you will have to prove yourself a worthy leader. Horses are very attached to their dominant counterpart. If you were to put on a horse suit and go into the corral... what would it take to become the boss hoss? You have to learn to think like a horse and use the same communication and dominance strategies that horses do within the herd.
This is the key to natural horsemanship... 50% of the program is about equine relationship skills.
Terms of Use | email: pnhusa@parelli.com | Intellectual Property Notice
Copyright © 2006 Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc All Rights Reserved | Photography Copyright © 2006 Coco All Rights Reserved