Thursday August 20th, 2009

The halter

I went into work late today unwilling to leave Wonder and venture into the real world. Although it is too soon to begin any real training, I continued making first impressions by taking his halter on and off between chores. My morning was spent mucking a stall then putting his halter on, mucking another stall and taking his halter off and so on, constantly rotating the side I approached. Occasionally, I offered a small handful of grain on my approach, rewarding him for coming toward me and allowing me to halter him. Consistent practice, I am convinced will desensitize/neutralize him to the idea that the halter means action and continue teaching him to look forward to my approach. I would like him to view my entrance with the halter as simply another opportunity to say hello rather than a signal it is time to work.

What I love about this is it reminds me to do the same with my own horses. It is an exercise I stopped doing long ago and it is a great way to change their assumptions and expectations while piquing their interest.