people think i'm nuts when i tell them this but it
worked like a charm for my appy mare. got her when she was four and only
halter broken. would spook or balk or whirl with anything unusual, even in
hand. before starting her under saddle i started teaching her that
anything scarey was "just a booger" as in my sixties i didn't want to have to
ride all that." started with non scarey stuff like a feed bucket, stuff
she'd want to touch. i'd tell her to touch the booger and while to start
with she didn't know what she was doing when she did touch i'd tell her how
wonderful and give her a tiny piece of apple. didn't take any time til she
knew what booger meant and would even go looking for boogers so she could get
her treat. as time went on i made the boogers really scarey. now she
thinks anything scarey is something i've set up and will want to touch it.
LOL i've had her wanting to chase down pigs to touch, bikers, "alligator" logs,
pieces of plastic blowing in the wind, etc. even was standing by while a
huge tree was cut and when it hit the ground she wanted to go touch it.
i'm really afraid she'll touch a snake or something one day, may have over done
the booger thing a bit but she doesn't shy. oh, when we come up on boogers she
still wants her treat. to start with she'd fight the blksmith like crazy
but once she learned booger i just told her HE was a booger. problem
solved. it was fun.
patty in georgia
Man does not have the only memory, The animals remember, The earth
remembers, The stones remember, If you know how to listen, they will tell
you many things.
