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Oh Yes Lynnie I definitely recommend backing her into a corner, especially if you don't mind getting turned into corral pizza!
BAD IDEA! DON'T GO THERE.
There is nothing quite so humbling and dangerous as putting a 1000 pound animal into a corner and forcing them to accept
something. Imagine a pro NFL linebacker dropping a shoulder into you and then doing a tap dance on your chest, only now
imagine he weighs a thousand pounds or more, need I say any anything else?
Do you have access to a round corral? or even just a corral that she can be made to move around in without hurting herself?
If so then this is really not a very big problem.
What I would suggest is pretty simple, put her in the corral absolutely loose with no restraints. Then walk in with the saddle
pad in hand, Walk up to her and hold it out to her, give her room to leave you because the lesson here is that we are going
to show her how to change her own mind about this pad instead of trying to make her accept it.
Much more powerful and effective.
Now she will probably leave you and turn to run around the pen, good! when she does make her keep moving for a while,
just drop the pad on the ground so she doesn't accidentally feel that you are chasing her with it.
After she has made a dozen or so circles around the pen drop your energy level and give her the opportunity to stop for a
little break from her exertions.
Now gently reach down and pick up the pad again, if she leaves at this point then put her to work again, some more circles
, only this time be watching her pretty closely to see if she wants to stop on her own. If she shows you a sign such as
licking her lips or just by keeping the inside ear and eye on you then let her stop. Repeat the pad thing. She will pretty
quickly start thinking that perhaps this pad is not such a big deal as opposed to moving around the pen.
So if she stands to let you pick it up then gently approach her with it.
Hold it our in front of you just slightly to see if she
might want to smell it. If she does go no further. Put the pad down and just pet her face. Walk on up to her and scratch her
neck and love on her a little. The turn around and as you leave pick up the pad as you go. Go to the middle of the pen and
set it down. Just stand there for say 20 to 30 seconds and let her relax. Then gently pick up the pad and start towards her
again. This time however you are going to let her smell it again but she won't smell it
very much because of course she has
already smelled it once and knows as well as you just what it is. Now slowly ease it
forward towards her neck, if she can't
take this much pressure and leaves then around the pen she goes for a few more laps.
This may seem like it is very time
consuming but believe me very quickly now she is going to be doing some thinking on her own. She is going to be trying to
talk her own self into liking that pad! You have to go slow for a while because just like you or I just because we
want to believe
something there is still a little time frame that must be considered.
I will bet you that by the end of a 30 minute session she will find that she actually likes that pad. The reason being is that
she will relate the pad with relief. Like the pad , stand and relax. Spook at the pad and around she goes. She will figure this
out very quickly.
I have taken many horses just like this one and by doing something like I am describing can very shortly place a pad or a
saddle or a garbage sack or just about what ever you can think of any where on them. You can even toss it on their backs
and they won't care. Reason being that they have now decided that they WANT to like what your selling,,
Major difference. |
Shying
From the Saddle Blanket By Lynnie 12/21/99 Re: Shying From the Saddle Blanket By Priscilla Gomez 12/21/99