This message is from: Misty Meadows B & B <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sue Harrison wrote: > How do you guys tie up your young animals so that they cannot get a foot > over their rope? We tried Storm with a rope and he chewed it. So we went > with a chain.... What do I try next? > Hi Sue, Cathy from Misty Meadows B&B and Fjords, Victoria, British Columbia > here - too busy to do too much but listen in on the group this summer - lots > of guests and lots of young fjords who need ++ input. Ya gotta go back to the rope - where things first started going wrong. Tie it about eye height. You don't want the rope to pull on him if he relaxes his head and lowers it, but it can't be loose enough to let him get his head at all below chest height. Almost all young horses will attempt to chew the rope. You simply have to stay there and fuss (grunt, groan, grumble, grab a lip... anything) every time they go for the rope. It takes repetition and time. Be a cougar about it if you have to, but set non-negotiable boundaries - you set the rules, not the horse. EVERY time the horse steps outside these (chewing the rope, not yielding to pressure, pawing, jigging, shoving into your space, etc) you need to let him know this is not in any way acceptable. If you change to different equipment (chains, etc,) the horse has clearly achieved what he intended to. He'll know that he is in charge and it will take harsher and stronger methods to control him. What you will have is a headstrong, pushy, unpleasant horse who has no respect for you. With our fjords being so strong, they are so unpleasant and downright dangerous to be around when allowed to do this as youngsters.
