In parts one and two we discussed round pen training as part of a system of methods for getting your horse to come to you. I refer to this part of the training program as the “respect and confidence exercise”. While this is an important step in training, there are additional steps that you can take that do not require the dedicated time that you must put in once you start a training session.
Not everyone has the ability to go out and spend an hour or more each day with their horses. In today’s world most people are very busy, and that creates a problem when you own horses. Horses are much like children, they need daily attention. Especially if you want them to be something more than pasture ornaments.
When teaching a horse to come to you, there is one method that I have found that is both quick and effective. When I feed my horses, I will stand by the feed and pet the horses and talk to them, so that they become familiar with my presence. This is also very useful with a problem horse that won’t come to you. As long as they refuse to come up to you and let you put your hands on them, they don’t get to eat.
It has been my experience that even the most stubborn horse will break down with in fifteen minutes or so. After all, their driving forces are food and safety.
If the horse is very stubborn and refuses to let me touch him, I will drive him away from the feed, until he lets me approach him and pet him at will. Usually this does not take very much time.
After the initial work is done, and my horses will let me approach, I make a habit of hanging out for at least two or three weeks strait for fifteen or twenty minutes during each feeding time just petting and taking to the horse. It doesn’t take long for them to accept you as a natural part of the herd, and talking to them creates a link of trust and comfort with the sound of your voice, and this will help you out in other situations when you are out riding, but we will discuss that in later posts.
One other thing that I always do when I go feed the horses is call them to me before I put the feed down, so that they learn to respond to my call not just the food. It doesn’t take them long to associate your call with being fed. So if you call them before you feed them, they will learn to respond to your call, and you will usually have them waiting for you before you even get to the gate.
When you are short on time, there is one more thing that is very helpful in getting your horse to enjoy being with you, and wanting to come to you. Sometimes when you halter him, just let him have some oats and curry him for ten minutes or so, then put him back. One of the quickest ways to teach a horse that you are no fun is to make him work every time you get him. You need to teach him that he will have fun with you, and soon he will race down the pasture to greet you as soon as he sees you coming.
Until next time,
Safe and Happy Trails
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