MENTORING: LEADING
"...and I whispered to the horse; trust no man in whose
eye you don't see yourself reflected as an equal".
This publication should find your Mustang accepting your presence and touch, and resorting to very few tendencies of flight. When you enter the holding pen your horse probably comes readily to you, or if still a bit hesitant, a few rounds brings him to the center. You have removed and replaced the halter several times, and can snap on a lead. Petting, caressing, rubbing, and scratching has progressed to several areas of the horses body, although you have found some still very unapproachable places (not to worry..it just takes time for the trust to build)
Now the object of this lesson is to teach your horse to walk with you when you ask, and to not bolt away. The round penning skills you've been using are exactly what you will utilize should bolting occur. If the horse runs away from you when you start exerting a little tension on the lead..so be it! Let him go, keep him moving until he expresses an interest in staying with you. The minute he leaves your side is when you start applying the idea"O.K., if that's what you want, then here we go.". You will be surprised just how fast he will rejoin you.
If you have the halter and lead attached then we are ready to go. Hold the lead in your right hand approximately 12-18 inches from where it is snapped to the halter ring, and the excess in your left hand being careful it isn't coiled around your hand, but grasped in such a way that by opening your hand the rope will fall and not tighten around your hand, wrist, or fingers! (REMEMBER..if he bolts let GO!!!!) Now say w-a-l-k , and take a step forward as you take up the slack in the lead. Be prepared for your horse to just look at you with a blank expression, not move an inch and as you repeat this, if you are lucky, perhaps stumble forward an inch or so..in which case a lot of praise to let him know he took the right action. He will have a tendency to become an immovable object, and stretch his head and neck out to release the pressure of the pull on the lead, but not move his feet. You must remember not to get into this tug of war game with him. You need to let him know what it is you want him to do. Think of what he will be doing to walk, which is to shift the weight from one foot to another. Repeat the above several times just to see if he may comply and if you don't feel you are getting through to him then pull him to the left enough to have him take the weight off his right front foot, then push him to the right enough to shift his weight to the right foot..do this over and over with enough forward motion to get him moving. Be patient, one to two steps will quickly become as many as you ask for. This is also the time to introduce "tension" to ask for a step forward. Stand a few feet in front of your horse and pull the rope tight, just shy of tugging and HOLD that tension until your horse moves forward to relieve the tension. The first time or two watch for a shift of weight forward, just extending his head closer to you OR an actual step. THE INSTANT he does any of the above RELAX THE TENSION and praise him. Do this over and over and he will soon realize that coming toward you gets the tension off his halter. (The giving to tension lesson will help when time to tie your horse for the first time.) Be sure to lead both directions when he catches on, even lead in figure eighths. Once leading you will be able to take him out of the holding pen for walks, but I do recommend into an area that is still safely fenced and somewhat restricted.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Its grassroots efforts are supported by a coalition of over forty organizations. More...
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