Do you have any unusual horse care or training tips that you love?

Barbara F · Grand Prix

Do you have any unusual horse care or training tips that you love?

Marlene · Advanced

I've seen that one too just recently (for horse that was nipping during girthing up), and it seems to work pretty well. If you know it's just misbehavior, but in my horse's case he had probably had bad fitting saddles before coming to me, or girthing too quickly, or girth galls I'm guessing, so with retraining and very gentle slow going (and better saddle, kinder girth) he improved a lot and doesn't nip during saddling. As long as a person has first taken care of those issues and knows it's just a lingering bad habit, then aversion training like the sprayer is helpful.

One of the most helpful tips for me was using lateral neck flexion to calm a jittery horse, or help them accept a procedure when they are very anxious, or just be more cooperative. This helped him get retrained for saddling, mounting, or when balking or jigging on the ride. I do it very gently and stay as relaxed as possible. But it helped me relax to know that this one technique would help us get through a number of glitches he seemed to have during rides. You can't just use it to bulldoze a bullheaded horse, but just to give him a few seconds to rethink the way he's behaving. It seems to reset his brain when he's beginning to have a melt down, and then we just retry and he usually just continues on.

deb · Well Schooled

Hi

I have a couple, I use vasoline for bruises or bumps on people and horses, it works-- learned that one from my uncle who learned it from some boxers.

I also finally figured out how to get my horse that WOULD not drink water-- at all-- to drink (he is a race horse so this is deadly for him as stb races horses work very, very hard and must drink copious amounts of water), I take hay cubes put lots of water in with them, and an electrolyte suplement that is naturally flavoured... any other type made it worse, and then add a bit of molassas to it, let it sit for a few hourse, then give it to him. He treats it like desert! And he drinks water now... smile

As to horses that chew reins/lines, I have a horse that would grab his lines on the go, and then get them hooked in his mouth, this is quite a feat as I have seen no other race horse pull this one off, although I did not try breath spray, I put many things along with Rap last on them, and he would still do it, so we thought long and hard, tried lots, and finally thought , he hates the feel of metal in his mouth, so we took two lead line chains, cut off the nylon, put the snaps on his bit, taped the snaps shut, then attatched the lines through the part that they nylon had been on, he never tried it again, so then eventually we one day took the chains off, and he had forgot the old habit. As to making him heavy in the mouth, proof that it did not, we plan to use him as a dressage horse in the future, and he has the lightest mouth or any horse of any breed I have ever had, he also can be driven in a race with no hand holds... I know of no other horse that I would even try this with.

This should prove to be an interesting catagory wink

Hopefully someone will come up with a way to keep my stud horse from eating his blankets!!! now that would be a trick!!!

Deb McDaid

Tiocfaidh Ar La Racing and Eventing Stable.

p.s this pic if of my husband Joe and of Che in London Ontario at his first qualifier

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Deb, I love your photo!

One of my tips would be to keep baby wipes handy, they're great for a quick clean up of just about everything including your hands in the winter if you don't have warm running water in the barn aww

deb · Well Schooled

Hi

thanks smile

that was from the warm up before the qualifier, Joe got it from a frame in the video

Che was 1st this week biggrin , joe got his five points.

another trick, if horses like molassas but can't have it 'straight' than you can water it down and sprinkle it on their food-- just don't keep it after you put water in it it has a 'shelf life' and will go bad due to the water.

deb

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Congratulations Deb, good for Che and Joe! aww