BETTY'S TRAIL RIDES
Not Just Another Trail Ride | |
"Rusty Says"
Tips about horses, horsemanship
and riding from Rusty "The Old Cowboy"
EXERCISE
When exercising a horse, a lot of people think the best way is to just get on him and let him run. Most people don't know it, but it takes a lot more energy out of your horse just to make him walk. A lot energy is used in wanting to run and fidgeting and chomping at the bit. Just keep walking calmly and the horse will calm down. You don't want him to get the idea that every time you get on him, he is supposed to charge out with you. You want ahorse that walks until you tell him to run and this is the best way to get him to listen to you. Incidentally, the one of the best places to walk is in a sand wash. One mile of walking through sand is like two miles on hard ground. Climbing hills is also great.
BRIDLING
When bridling a horse, be sure to stand beside, not in front, of the animal. A lot times I have seen a person stand right in front of the horse and try to shove the bridle into his mouth and then wonder why he is backing up and tossing his head. Just get on the left side, take the bridle by the top strap in your right hand, and with your left, guide the bit into the mouth. You may have to put your left thumb into the mouth in the space between the teeth and gently pry the mouth open as you slip the bit in. This usually works really good and the horse doesn't mind at all.
LOADING A DIFFICULT HORSE
All too often, horses don't like to load into trailers. The best way to teach them to load is to do it from the get-go when they are colts. If you have a baby and the mother, and the mother loads well, just load the mom and the baby will follow right into the trailer. Do this a bunch of times and the colt will load and you won't ever have any trouble loading him after that.
However, you may already have an adult horse that won't load. It can be pretty bad and horses have even been killed thrashing around with people trying to pull them into the trailer. Horses naturally just don't cotton to small, enclosed spaces. The bigger your trailer, the more comfortable your horse is going to be going into it. Also, he is going to like a trailer better that doesn't have a closed ceiling and is more open to the air.
Sometimes all that is needed to get a reluctant horse into a trailer is to put some hay or gain in there and he will see it and hop in. If that doesn't work, pop him on the butt with a rope and tell him to get in there. Don't be afraid to do this. You aren't going to hurt him. You are going to hurt him more by trying to coax him and drag out the process. The longer you take to get him in there, the more he is going to remember it and will keep right on being difficult in the future. It is best to just jump him in and get it over with.
If popping him on the butt doesn't work, don't keep it up for very long. You will only irritate the horse more. The next step is to dally your rope to some point inside the trailer. Wind it around a bar or other stable part of the trailer securely several times, get outside the trailer, and then pull as you pop the horse again. Watch your fingers. Many have been lost when they got tangled in the rope. If your horse pulls back, just let him. He isn't going to go very far. If the horse pulls back again and won't go in, keep dallied. Gently place a front foot inside the trailer and have two people get behind the horse, one on each side. Lock hands behind his butt and he will often just push right in. This method usually works really well.
Sometimes a horse will get half-way into the trailer and back out again. If this is happening, tighten your dalllies as the horse goes in and then he can't back out. You may have to do this little by little as the horse gradually goes into the trailer. Edge him in and tighten the dallies. Edge him a little further and tighten again. When he finally gets in, close the door behind him immediately so he can't try to back out again. Sometimes when he is almost in and he feels the door behind him, he will just hop the rest of the way in.
If you have a horse that is really difficult and he flops around like a beached whale and flings himself down or even over backwards, it can be intimidating. Don't be intimidated or you will never get him into the trailer. Be sure to keep clear of this kind of animal so that he doesn't fall on you. Just keep working with him. Talk to him to calm him and keep using the above methods to load him. Eventually he will load. Don't give up or he will know he has won and won't be any easier, and probably more difficult the next time you want to get him into a trailer.
TYING UP A HORSE
I've already mentioned a little about tying up a horse and how not to ever use the reins for this, but use a lead rope. There are a lot of different kinds of lead ropes but whatever kind you use, make sure you tie the horse high enough and short enough so that the lead can't tangle in his legs. I've seen this happen and sometimes it ain't real sightly.As to kinds of lead ropes, I generally like to use a haystring. That may sound funny, but horses commonly set back for one reason or another and if a horse is really scared, he can panic when he finds out he can't go anywhere to get away from what's bothering him. I've seen horses fight and pull and fall on the ground and hurt themselves. Other horses tied up near them panic too and I've seen real wrecks with damaged tack, equipment, hitching posts, horses and even people. On the other hand, a haystring just breaks and horse will almost always, finding himself free, simply stop. If they do take off, they won't usually go but a few steps. Most people think they will just be off like a bullet somewhere over the moon, but they generally don't like to get too far from the corral and if you have other horses, they don't want to get too far from them. After all, they are herd animals. Sometimes you have to use a stout rope to tie a horse because some horses get wise to the haystring thing and just keep setting back. When I do use a lead rope, I prefer to use one with a quick release that you can just go up and pull with one simple motion and it will come undone. Most commercial lead ropes are not this kind and if the horse sets back, you are fiddling around with the release while the horse is pitching around and you're trying not to get let him get hurt and not to get hurt yourself.
KEEP YOUR HORSE EXERCISED
I get a lot of people coming in here wanting to sell their horses. A lot of them say they have lemons that just want to buck and act up. Another owner like this showed up the other day and I went over to look at the horse and saw again what I see a lot. Leads to this month's tip.When I got over to this guy's place, I saw a horse in a corral so small the horse didn't have much room to turn around. I saw, too, that his place wasn't really big and he couldn't have a corral any larger than the one he had. I asked what he was feeding him and he showed me the hay--straight alfalfa and hot. He also gave him a big bucket of grain every day and a lot of vitamins and supplements. Right off, I saw what the problem was--and is with a lot of people with unmanageable horses. Horses are big, nervous, powerful critters with a lot of energy that needs worked off. Keeping them in a small corral with just occassional riding (this guy couldn't ride every day or even every weekend) only builds the energy. Feeding them hot hay and lots of grain and supplements is just like a human athlete's diet. If an athlete is not working, he dosen't need the same diet as he does when he is working. A horse is the same. By the time the owner got around to riding, the horse was feeling way too good and all he wanted to do is run, buck, and act silly. He was plumb crazy. The best thing you can do with a horse is pace him to how you are using him. If you can't keep him in a large corral or pasture, don't ride often and the animal dosen't get a lot of exercise, you don't need to feed him grain at all and you can tone down the supplements and feed hay that is mixed grass/alfalfa or even just grass. And remember, too, that too much makes a person--and a horse--too fat. Horses can get heart problems and all the other stuff we humans get from being overweight and not exercising. The final thought here is that horses were wild critters in the first place. There are still a lot of wild horses in places. In nature they have plenty of room to run around, eat nothing but grass and wild foliage. They don't get grain, supplements and other goodies. They are healthy to the point that they need to be thinned out now and then. Nevada, for example, has a real mustang problem from time to time. So don't just hug your horse today--feed him right and make him exercise, dammit!
A FEW MORE TIPS
When we asked Rusty for a tip this month, he said, "Balance is important. Keep a leg on both sides and your mind in the middle and you'll stay on."
Then we told him we had to have more than that, and he said, "Get up off that couch and let me lie down or I'm going to bed. I don't like to put things on the internet. But as long as you are doing it, tell them: Never run a horse to the barn. I see people do it all the time. The horse wants to go home in the first place, and you will get it in the habit of running home and you won't be able to stop it. Every time you'll have a fight with it. If you have to run toward the barn, stop the horse about a half mile out and make it walk the rest of the way in.
Another thing I see people do a lot is tying a horse up by the reins. This is fine if what you want to do is tear up its mouth. If it sets back, you can get it hurt bad. Always use a lead rope and make sure to slip the bridle off the horse when you tie up and put it over the saddle horn. If you don't, the reins can slip over its head and it can get caught in them if the reins are the loop kind. The horse can really get hurt that way. If the reins are split, the horse can step on them and break them. Now get up off that couch and let me lie down there to watch the news or I'll replace you with a younger woman and you and your brother get out of here. You're making too much noise!"
SAFETY
The most valuable tips I can give about riding are those on safety. Horses are living creatures and have minds and personalities and emotions of their own, just as people do. They can get scared, they can be hurt, they can feel contrary or just plain mad. They are bigger than humans and many times as strong. They are extremely aware and alert to certain things. The minute you hit their backs, they know what kind of a rider you are and what they can get away with. They are a lot like kids and may test you. They may try to stop on the trail and eat, wander around, decide not to leave the corral and give you a bad time in general. And then, again, they may be sweet as pie.
Because your horse knows what kind of a rider you are, you need to know also. This is the major mistake most people make after they get comfortable riding horses. It is easy, after riding beginner horses, to think that you know a lot about riding. I have had people tell me they are excellent riders and when I ask how much they have ridden, they tell me, "About six or eight times." That ain't gonna cut it. To be a good rider you have to observe horses--a lot of them--for a good length of time so that you understand all the ways they can react and recognize from their actions what they are about to do. It's like with people--just when you think you have seen it all, something new comes up. In a nutshell, the major safety tip I can give you is, don't over estimate your riding abilities. Many people have and have lived to regret it and some didn't.
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