On Tue, Sep 18, 2007 at 08:24:43AM -0700, Lorraine wrote: > I don't condone this myself. What do you thing about > kneeing a horse in the stomach while saddleing him? > The girl I sold Harley to, her friend suggested it. I > told her "don't you dare"!!!!!
i'm with you. one of my students leases a quarab named cheyenne, and we think this was done to him. on the one hand, he never, ever blows out his belly, and you only have to tighten the girth once. on the other hand, he HATED AND FEARED the saddling process, pinning his ears, sidling away, lifting a hind foot, the usual :/ my student had been just barging ahead with the saddling (he would NEVER knee a horse in the stomach) without any change in this behavior for a couple of years. now we have been working on sweetening cheyenne's experience -- i scritch him and give him carrots while my student puts on the saddle and tightens the girth -- for some months. we've moved to a "random reward" condition where sometimes he gets the carrot and sometimes he doesn't, but by now he also stands calmly about 90% of the time. much more pleasant. next, working on standing still after mounting.... :) --vicka
