From: Ellis
Dear Jessica, You are totally awesome and you might like to know that your book "Riding for the Rest Of Us" is the one I keep next to my bed, well that and the Bible are both next to my bed, so you are obviously a very important person at my house.
My other question is, where can I get ten copies of your book for kids (Horseback Almanac) because I want to use it for my daughter's riding club.
She is nine and she and her friends have just started their own "Horses Club".
Thanks for all of your answers to questions that I didn't even ask yet!
Ellis
Do everything in slow motion -- fast, abrupt gestures will frighten nervous horses. TALK to him softly and slowly. Spread some piles of hay around the paddock, NOT near you, and just sit there and read -- no sneaking up and grabbing the horse, no trying to pet him. If you read out loud, so much the better, he'll be able to get used to your voice. If he can get relaxed enough to walk around and eat while you read, you should be pleased. Do this every day for a while. As he relaxes, you can put some of the hay nearer your chair, but don't grab the horse...
Move around a little as you read -- scratch, move your legs, brush your hair back, but again, all in slow-motion. Get up and stretch and sit back down.
He may race into his stall, but just ignore him, sit down, read some more.
He'll come back. Take your time. Write letters, balance your checkbook -- do whatever you can do that will keep you busy.
If your horse comes over to investigate -- which he will -- just talk to him softly, and go on doing what you're doing. And DON'T GRAB. He needs to learn that he can approach you and go away again.
Eventually, he'll spend more and more time in your corner, and you'll be able to walk around the pen without scaring him. When he's relaxed to the point where you can touch him easily, don't try to touch his face or ears, just begin by rubbing him slowly on the neck and just on and behind the withers. These are typically itchy spots on horses, and if yours hasn't been groomed in some time, he should appreciate the feeling. Once he's learned that you are a reliable source of "scritchies", bring out a really scratchy brush, and use that. Again, use it slowly, and use pressure -- your horse will like it. Watch him carefully -- look for signs that you've found particularly good spots to scratch. He'll tell you. If he stretches his neck out or arches it strongly, or if he wriggles his upper lip, notice where you are, and keep going back to that spots. Those are expressions of pleasure.
Expressions of annoyance or pain are just as clear: if he leans away or steps away, or if his ears go back and his mouth tightens, or if you see his tail swish hard, or if he threatens to cow-kick, notice where you are, and avoid those spots.
One caution: if you are scrubbing away at your horse's withers with a stiff brush and he is stretching his neck and practically purring with pleasure, and then you feel his muzzle on your back, don't jump or yell or smack your horse. He's not biting or threatening to bite, he is behaving like a horse.
Horses groom one another, and if a horse wants to have his withers scratched, he will begin to groom another horse's withers. Your horse, by trying to groom YOU, has given you the compliment of treating you like another horse. ;-) Of course, you are NOT another horse, and you don't want to be groomed, but you can discourage the horse gently, by moving and by shifting your brushing to another area.
If your husband and daughter come out while this is going on, and express their total boredom, congratulations! Good training SHOULD look boring, as though there is nothing going on. Bad training, on the other hand, tends to involve loud sounds and loud whacks and fast movement and a lot of running around. ;-)
Anyway, all of this should make your horse much happier about being with you. Don't worry if it takes a long time; your horse came to you with (obviously) a lot of emotional baggage, and it may take a long time for him to put it down. But if you take your time and let the horse come to you, then show him what a good idea that is, he'll relax and learn to trust you, and the rest of your work with him will go much more easily.
As for your second question, I'd suggest that you order "Horseback Almanac" online from amazon.com. The prices are good -- they also have a great discount on "Riding for the Rest of Us" -- and everything I've ordered has arrived very quickly. I hope your daughter has fun with her club!
Jessica
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Hi Ellis! Thanks for the kind words. You're on the right track with your new horse; just relax yourself and take things slowly. It won't kill him if he doesn't get a thorough grooming every day, so why not just find a book that you've been wanting to read, and take the book and a chair out to his paddock? He needs to get used to you and understand that you won't hurt him.
Whatever has happened in his past, it's over now, but he doesn't know that yet. ;-)
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