> My 13 year old Icelandic gelding reads my mind for sure. I said this > recently, he is fine, comes up for petting, but if I am going to take > him to trim his hooves, or put him in a dry lot, good luck getting > anywhere near him:) He does not like either of those things.
Lets be analytical about this Kim :) Some would say you need to go thru the motions of feet trimming or taking him to the drylot a LOT so he will get over it. What do you guys think? I know with me I get tired and think oh well I am picking my battles. But on the trail, it has really paid off for me to get them to do the thing they dont like. But there is a line there I dont want to cross. Where they might balk at an object and if pressed, flip out and rear or buck or bolt. I want to get them to keep trying tho!. I remember on one trail there was a piece of plywood and none of the horses would walk on it cause it was warped and had something under it so it went like a teeter totter. I would laugh and say "training op!" and try to get jaspar to cross it and he would do the most hilarious things to avoid it, like skitter around and make one little step on it and I would let him go on. But at the end all the horses I rode with, none of them would cross it and jaspar would. He got where he would just clomp across with it flipping up in the back and dropping loud. Then one day on a big ride we came up on a small wooden bridge and none of the horses would cross but jaspar. But I think the first time if I had kept on, forcing him, kicking him, he may have reared or flipped out... Janice -- yipie tie yie yo
