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Sep. 18th, 2005 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickWell, today was a wash. It started out well enough. I got over to La's at a reasonable hour. I caught the IRH and took her out of the field.
La could not catch Mezcal. Could not. COULD NOT. She walked after her in the field for two and a half hours while I stood there and hung out with the IRH waiting. Finally, La was like "Go catch Naughty, Chessa, and Chablis -- ride them over to Odie's, I'll come pick you up after I've caught Mezcal." Right. So I put the IRH back in the field and caught Naughty, Chessa, and Chablis (three broodmares, all rideable, whose babies needed to be weaned -- we left the babies behind and rode the mares away). Trys and I got them tacked up and Liss, Trys, and I rode the three of them over to Odie's. *sigh* I did not get to put any miles at all on the IRH. I got to ride a skinny broodmare somewhere north of twenty (Chessa -- but Chablis is just as broke AND rough like ten miles of bad road (this is why nobody keeps her for a personal riding horse) and Naughty isn't any smoother or more interesting than Chessa) who chugged along in a trustworthy and responsible manner. *sigh* Whatever.
At least at Odie's, I got to visit Meatly, who looked very broodmare. I hate what having babies does to her belly. The baby is cuter than I thought it was but still not something I really want to own. It's also still pretty much untouched by human hands, though I did touch it about four or five times while I was there. It's not what I'd call tame and it does not lead or tie. I don't think it's ever been caught.
On catching horses: We are morally opposed to suckering the horse with grain. That is not an option. We are also morally opposed to cornering the horse in the barn with six people and catching her that way. We expect the horse to stand still and allow herself to be caught, with the halter and lead plainly visible and without any treats or grain to hand. I do not catch the IRH with grain. I do not catch Meatly with grain. La does not catch anything she rides with grain. The horses shall stand to be caught and on the rare occasion that they do not, we walk after them, halter and lead in plain sight, no grain or treats, until they stand to be caught. At least once per horse, this takes a while, and by a while, I mean several hours. I've never had one try it to the same extent again after I've walked her down the first time.
So it was today. Today was Mezcal's turn to be walked down. La reported that she finally caught Mezcal after about three hours. She took her out of the field, fed her a can of grain, and put her back in the field without working her at all. The general feeling here is that Mezcal will now go "Damn, that was a lot of work for no good reason. All the intrepid La was trying to do was feed me a can of grain. I should let myself be caught sooner next time." That's the pleasant interpretation of what goes on in the horse's mind. The other option is "Oh, hell it's her again, The Terminator. She just keeps coming and coming and she Will Not Stop until I am caught. Might as well get it over with now." I don't really know what option the horses actually use and I don't much care. Whichever line of reasoning they use, after you walk a horse down once in the field, it does not go for that try-to-get-away shit much ever again. The only thing to remember is that if you TRY to walk the horse down, you have started something that you damn well better finish or the problem will only get worse. Walking a horse down isn't impossible, but it does take a while. It's best if you don't have a huge area to work in, but if you *have* to work in the field, it's best to pick a warm, sunny day. While you're walking the horse down, stay close enough to the horse that it cannot stop to eat or drink. You don't want the horse running about wildly, but it should keep moving if it's not going to let you catch it. There is no time for snackies or for standing around. The horse must either walk away OR stand still while you approach. Them's the choices that the horse gets. Eventually, all domesticated, reasonably tame horses make the "stand still to be caught" choice. Just... sometimes it takes a while.
La could not catch Mezcal. Could not. COULD NOT. She walked after her in the field for two and a half hours while I stood there and hung out with the IRH waiting. Finally, La was like "Go catch Naughty, Chessa, and Chablis -- ride them over to Odie's, I'll come pick you up after I've caught Mezcal." Right. So I put the IRH back in the field and caught Naughty, Chessa, and Chablis (three broodmares, all rideable, whose babies needed to be weaned -- we left the babies behind and rode the mares away). Trys and I got them tacked up and Liss, Trys, and I rode the three of them over to Odie's. *sigh* I did not get to put any miles at all on the IRH. I got to ride a skinny broodmare somewhere north of twenty (Chessa -- but Chablis is just as broke AND rough like ten miles of bad road (this is why nobody keeps her for a personal riding horse) and Naughty isn't any smoother or more interesting than Chessa) who chugged along in a trustworthy and responsible manner. *sigh* Whatever.
At least at Odie's, I got to visit Meatly, who looked very broodmare. I hate what having babies does to her belly. The baby is cuter than I thought it was but still not something I really want to own. It's also still pretty much untouched by human hands, though I did touch it about four or five times while I was there. It's not what I'd call tame and it does not lead or tie. I don't think it's ever been caught.
On catching horses: We are morally opposed to suckering the horse with grain. That is not an option. We are also morally opposed to cornering the horse in the barn with six people and catching her that way. We expect the horse to stand still and allow herself to be caught, with the halter and lead plainly visible and without any treats or grain to hand. I do not catch the IRH with grain. I do not catch Meatly with grain. La does not catch anything she rides with grain. The horses shall stand to be caught and on the rare occasion that they do not, we walk after them, halter and lead in plain sight, no grain or treats, until they stand to be caught. At least once per horse, this takes a while, and by a while, I mean several hours. I've never had one try it to the same extent again after I've walked her down the first time.
So it was today. Today was Mezcal's turn to be walked down. La reported that she finally caught Mezcal after about three hours. She took her out of the field, fed her a can of grain, and put her back in the field without working her at all. The general feeling here is that Mezcal will now go "Damn, that was a lot of work for no good reason. All the intrepid La was trying to do was feed me a can of grain. I should let myself be caught sooner next time." That's the pleasant interpretation of what goes on in the horse's mind. The other option is "Oh, hell it's her again, The Terminator. She just keeps coming and coming and she Will Not Stop until I am caught. Might as well get it over with now." I don't really know what option the horses actually use and I don't much care. Whichever line of reasoning they use, after you walk a horse down once in the field, it does not go for that try-to-get-away shit much ever again. The only thing to remember is that if you TRY to walk the horse down, you have started something that you damn well better finish or the problem will only get worse. Walking a horse down isn't impossible, but it does take a while. It's best if you don't have a huge area to work in, but if you *have* to work in the field, it's best to pick a warm, sunny day. While you're walking the horse down, stay close enough to the horse that it cannot stop to eat or drink. You don't want the horse running about wildly, but it should keep moving if it's not going to let you catch it. There is no time for snackies or for standing around. The horse must either walk away OR stand still while you approach. Them's the choices that the horse gets. Eventually, all domesticated, reasonably tame horses make the "stand still to be caught" choice. Just... sometimes it takes a while.
