This message is from: "Karen McCarthy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Due to a super busy/stressfull work schedule lately, I have only been scanning this discussion as often as I can, but don't have the time read each post through...nor do I have time to delve into a lengthy reply. Hope I won't bore anyone too much w/ how I work w/ young horses except to say the handling I do is actually pretty minimal, but the day to day contact I do have when I interact w/ them is very consistant. When they go thru the shy pahse (some don't!) I simlpy crouch down or sit on a bucket and they eventually can't stand it and come over for a nose sniffing session, which soon turns into butt scratching, etc. and were friends. As they are out in pasture during the day and we have some funky russian olives that pass as trees here in Nevada, I don't leave halters on them, but I do start haltering them as 2-3 mo old foals. No big deal.I also teach them to back early on, just by slight on/off pressure @ the shoulder + a calm voice command, starting out w/ pretty good pressure and lessening to a light touch once they get it. As for leading, I do the butt rope thing w/ a soft coton rope, but I am very persistant at untracking their feet, not by pulling forward but shifting their balance side to side, and don't use a whip on them at all usually until they are acturally leading, then I use the whip as more of a directional aid, or wand,as in the Linda Tellington-Jones sense, who I wanted to bring up as having some good exercises, although I don't agree/see the sense in some of it, I like the wand exercises. I am all for horses learning their boundaries early on so I *try* not to hand feed, but they will go thru the nippies anyway, and I discipline them like I do dogs w/ a little uppercut under the jaw and a firm + growly 'quit' or 'hey' command' (NOT no!) ...So much that you do w/ horses is w/ body language + voice inflection, its not funny! Sorry for rambling on...........Kmac
Karen McCarthyGreat Basin Fjords :: Carson City, Nevadahttp://www.picturetrail.com/weegees
