Okay, I started a new thread because I didn't know where else this would go, and if there's a different site where I should be asking this type of stuff, then just let me know! Question- My new baby (2 days today) already has a weird bad habit. When I'm working with her, she throws a little fit and lays down to pout and play possum. The problem is that she leans into me first, then ends up on my lap. Cute now, she's only about 50 pounds, but it won't be so cute in a few months. Is there a way that I can play on this to where she will lay down on command, since that's what she wants to do anyway? If so, what is the correct way to do that? I've looked up a few trick horse sites and that's the closest I can find, but I really can't find the information I want there. I don't want to be mean to her and scare her out of it, but if we can work WITH this instead of AGAINST it, in the way I want, then it might be cute as a trick, like sitting down and things. Any help would be great! Thanks!
I have a yearling filly that I started trick horse training at five months because she was on stall rest and need something to keep her busy. She bows, lays down smiles and counts. She will also think her way out of a situation rather than panicking, which to me is the greatest benefit. I used a couple of different books, but I would recommend the imagine a horse web site. He does some thing he calls advanced foal training. I think his tape might be a little spendy but it sounds like your filly would like it! He starts teaching his horses fundamental tricks from the day they are born, and he uses a bean bag to help them lay down. His grown up horses and foals all like to hang out sitting on bean bag chairs!
Get a spray bottle of water and when she starts that spray her. I had a colt that would do that-I used the hose on him finally. Little stinker, broke that habit. Sometimes they are too smart for their own good.
they way that most folks teach their horses to lay down( including native americans) is to pick up the foot closest to you and bend it up to the belly, and at the same time, grab the halter from the outside of her face and bend her nose back toward her butt( ie, have her left leg picked up and with your right arm and hand reach over the neck and turn her nose to the right and facing her butt) then lay her down with her body leaning into yours, remembering that thier front end comes down first.
(Message edited by Jw_kings_excalibur on May 30, 2006)
Megan I will try that website, thanks! Marci, good idea, but I don't want to break the habit entirely, I want to work with it. Gynna, Will she want to lay down when we try to shoe her? And will she always want to lean into me, or will it change as she gets older? Thanks everybody! You can email me at breakawaystudio@bresnsn.net
My filly's lay down cue is also the foot pick up and head cue. But without the head cue, she stand with her foot held up like a good little horse. You just have to establish a diffrence between the two.
Megan or Gynna or somebody - is there anyone who could take some step by step pictures of doing this so I can make sure I'm doing it correctly. It's working, but I will feel like she's going to come down on top of me! I checked out that imagineahorse website and I think I'm going to try to order that video, but until it comes, I need to be able to keep working on a few of these things. Pictures work so much better! Thanks!
I can try, I'll see if I can get a video for you tomorrow! My Filly will always bow, but the lay down comes and goes! There is an aspect of learning to balance for the horse, so they will lean on you a little. My filly goes to one front knee first, and then she folds up and lies down, which is a result of the way I taught her the tricks. In my mind the trick is just another way of giving to pressure. I have a colt this year who likes to fall over when he gets panicky, so when he hits the ground I hold a front leg to keep him from getting up until he relaxes. I think helps them figure out no mater how bad things seem, there are no foal eating monsters at our house, and if they get cast or any thing else stupid they usually wait to get rescued rather than banging up the stalls or themselves. My Trick filly will cast herself on purpose and nicker politely until someone comes to rescue her, but she’s a bit of a ham. I don’t normally lay the foals down but if he wants to throw himself there any way, so be it. I think the most important thing about the lay down is teaching them to stay where they are until you let them up, and the way I’ve found that works very well, and that they can’t hurt themselves is to fold their front foot towards their chests and the put a little bit of weight on them. I can hold my yearling that way and she weighs almost 800 lbs. I use a rope around her front foot, but on a little guy it’s pretty easy to do with a hand.
Megan, a video would be great! The staying down part isn't a problem... Funny thing, once she's down, I'll say "Dead horse" and her head HITS the ground. She closes her eyes and hibernates. After that, I can go play with mom, run to the car, walk around the corral and she'll just stay put until I come back to her and lift up on her back a little bit. (Push underneath her) then she'll hop up and stand there waiting for instruction. I want to get her to where I can just tap her knee and pull her head over a little and have her do it, but you're right, the balance thing is an issue right now. Any other fun stuff I can teach her right now while she's tiny?
Smiling is super fun. You can try to tickle her top lip and see if she will wiggle it while you tell her smile, when she does tell her she’s a good girl and give her a scratch. I used food motivation to get TC to smile. I held treat above her lip until she curled it up, then kept moving the treat further and further away. I can now just wiggle a finger and say smile. Actually I taught that trick to all my weanlings last year, and it’s really funny to have a bunch of them hanging their head over the fence with their lips up in the air. You can also give her things to hold in her mouth. TC knows “take it” and will pack just about any thing I hand to her. She will, “led” herself or her brother. It took a while for her to figure out that she shouldn’t “take” things that weren’t given to her, and we're still working on taking things that I drop, which is the practical side to that trick.
haha Sounds so fun! Her Mom "smiles" all the time, but I can't figure out what triggers it. I know if my kids give her a cracker or something she thinks is a treat she'll do it, but then a lot of times she'll do it just out of the blue. We need to work with it I guess. I would like her to be able to carry things. The treat part of this can't work quite yet because she doesn't have any teeth! hehe Soon though.
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