KBR Horse Net
Training Case Study:

"Sheba"
Part Two


It's important to be able to get in and around your horse's mouth. She's going to have to be wormed, have teeth inspected and floated, carry a bit, plus if we're going to trainer with the clicker, she needs to be relaxed enough to take carrots.

I like to spend a lot of time around the muzzle, especially working my fingers gently into the bars of her mouth, rubbing under her lips and massaging her gums. With many of these horses this activity has a dramatic calming effect, much like a suckling reflex.

Sheba was no different. When she would get anxious about my moving my hands into scary territory, I could go back to her muzzle to relax and reassure her. (This will be another horse who will not be difficult to worm!)

When the horse is comfortable being handled on the muzzle, I'll start to apply some pressure and ask her to yield toward me. If she's getting settled in, she should start to do this without throwing her head upwards. When it comes time for haltering, bridling and bitting and responding to lateral pressure of a snaffle bit, these basics will have prepared the horse mentally and she will be able to deal with all of these things virtually effortlessly.

Since Sheba got a little worked up at the beginning trying to dodge the pole, I wanted to make her "up close and personal" be remembered as contrasting tranquility. We stayed pretty much with what worked.

Rubbing her while off-lead
Rubbing her forehead and ears
At the end of the session, Cindy Tambini (Patience's Mom) stopped by to do some riding and we let Sheba back into the chute to see how she would react to a stranger touching her. Cindy was very quiet and gave Sheba some nice scratches and Sheba was quite relaxed through it all. (Note that the chute gate was open at all times so Sheba could have backed out any time she wished.)

Just before feeding time I went back into the pen, approached her and massaged her muzzle. I had also taken in a carrot. When she seemed relaxed, I bit off a small chunk of carrot and offered it to her. She took it from my hand and enjoyed it. Pretty soon the whole carrot was gone, one chunk at a time. This was a big step because since she will take treats, we can start on some clicker training.

Not bad for about 2 hours' work.

Sheba can be silly
Working up her muzzle
Rubbing the off side muzzle
Playing with her nose and lips
Getting inside her mouth
Asking for a yield to jaw pressure
Cindy rubbing Sheba
Sheba can leave any time

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