This is not uncommon in TBs, who generally work in “strings” on the
track.I’m with Ed – only
way to break the habit is by taking them out alone.If they give me problems, and start
planting feet, I’ll turn circles, or move them sideways and then walk on
again.I generally take my babies
out immediately they arrive off the track – either that day or the following
day.I don’t give them time
to “settle” in a new place because it just makes them more
barn-sour. If you have a horse who
is genuinely frightened on its own, then I take it out with A buddy (but I vary
which buddy it is, so that it doesn’t become too attached to one horse)
but then, while we’re out, I’ll ask the horse to stand while the
other horse moves off, or I’ll ask the baby to trot away from the other
horse for a bit. I even make
them stand quietly while the other horse canters away – it breaks them
from the “flight” which is reinforced on the track and generally
makes them safer all round.
I’m also in favour
of leading a horse out in hand, if it gives him more confidence. The bottom line, though, is that if the
horse is having fun with you, he will generally not mind leaving his buddies,
so you have to make sure that you don’t fight with him or make it such an
issue that it becomes unpleasant.
Regards,
Tracey
-----Original Message----- From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Burnett, Elly Sent: 22 March 2006 06:11 PM To:ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Herd bound
Since I'm avoiding studying anatomy at all costs right now,
I was reading through the "horse buying woes" thread and thought of a
question. How do you all deal with herd-bound horses? I just bought
a new horse and haven't moved her to my new barn, but since I'm planning to
turn her out on pasture with a gaggle of other mares, I'm assuming she'll have
some problems. Every other horse I've had has had some degree of
herd-boundness. I've never really known how to approach it. Before,
it wasn't such a big deal because I was show jumping and the arena was within
sight of the herd, so that eliminated many of the more extreme problems (except
at shows, but that's another story). Any help would be super.
