ComputerHunter.org

 

How To Get Your Horse To Obey You and Look To You For Instruction


In the animal kingdom there is a pecking order. Richard Shrake points out that it's a lot like the military. He ranks in the pecking order go from General down to Private. The General will get first pick of the food, decide where to go and when, and so on.

The "second in command" will act just like the General but he won't pick on the General because the General dominates him. This string of command continues all the way down to the bottom of the pecking order. Any time a new animal comes into the group then the pecking order shifts. Knowing this information, you can use it to your advantage. You can make yourself the leader in the horse's eyes. He'll look to you for instruction. He'll obey you.

If you have a dominant horse it will be instinct for him to let a more dominant being make the decisions. In this case the dominant being will be you. You will become leader by using your body language to show you are confident. Being dominant doesn't mean you're being aggressive.

On the other hand, if your horse is the General, you may have to be more assertive. Make sure your horse doesn't think you're a threat. It's easy to come across as threatening when you're being assertive. If your horse feels threatened he'll fight back and you can't win. And if you are doing horse training, you will find it hard to get results.

In the wild, dominant and aggressive horses will make their bodies tight and make sudden moves with fury while getting into the other horse's space. The weaker horse will concede and move out of his space. Think of it as the General screaming an order and the Private is obeying.

Slow movements tend to draw one horse to another. Horses express calmness with relaxed, slow steps. This is how they welcome other horses in their space.

If a horse is trying to show you he's the General you may see a clamped-down tail with pinned ears. To get him to accept you as the General you will move him out of his space. You do this by matching any quick moves he makes with your own quick moves. The trick is to make the first strike before he does.

One way to do this is with a quick arm movement towards him ? almost like you're violently shooing away some pesky flies. Also, you can use an aggressive tone of voice towards a horse if he's being aggressive.

How can you tell if he's conceding to you? If he turns his head or drops it, relaxes his tail, begins chewing, or takes a deep breath, then that's how you know. If any of these happen he's saying, "Okay, I'll do what you say because I want to listen to you." Pay attention to these clues that tell you your horse is in the Private mode (the follower) instead of the General mode.

When you go into the round pen to work with your horse first check to see how he responds to you. If he rubs his head on you or swings his rear end toward you then he's challenging your position in the pecking order. If you're with a horse that's not dominant you want to make sure he has confidence. Thus, be very careful not to be threatening.

About The Author

Andy Curry is a nationally known horse trainer and author of several best selling horse training and horse care books. For information visit his website at www.horsetrainingandtips.com. He is also the leading expert on Jesse Beery's horse training methods which can be seen at www.horsetrainingandtips.com/Jesse_Beerya.htm.







Google News - Top Stories

Times Online

US seizes Fannie and Freddie
CNNMoney.com - 26 minutes ago
Treasury chief Paulson unveils historic government takeover of twin mortgage buyers. Top executives are out. By David Ellis, CNNMoney.
Video: Feds Take Over Mortgage Giants AssociatedPress
Nikkei set to gain after US mortgage firm takeover Forbes
guardian.co.uk - New York Times - BusinessWeek - International Herald Tribune
all 4,928 news articles


China Daily

Hurricane, at Category 4, Heads Toward Cuba
New York Times - 44 minutes ago
By MARIA NEWMAN Hurricane Ike grew into a bigger threat to Florida and the Gulf Coast Sunday as it roared through the Bahamas mid-morning, with forecasters expecting it to gain in strength as it approaches Cuba.
Video: Raw Video: Ike Pounds Turks and Caicos AssociatedPress
Worst storm in 48 years batters Caribbean islands guardian.co.uk
Bloomberg - WLOS - The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - MiamiHerald.com
all 3,993 news articles


GulfNews

McCain takes on GOP and Bush along with Obama
The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (AP) - Barack Obama isn't John McCain's only opponent. Sometimes McCain sounds like he's running almost as hard against President Bush and the Republican Party as he is against Obama, his Democratic rival for the White House.
Video: McCain Vs. Obama: Got Change? AssociatedPress
McCain and Obama Vie Over Whether Palin Means Change (Update1) Bloomberg
AFP - Washington Post - FOXNews - New York Times
all 2,791 news articles


BBC News

Pakistan's new president
Jerusalem Post - 3 hours ago
The world's only nuclear-armed Islamic state has a new president. Asif Ali Zardari, 53, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, was chosen by Pakistan's electoral college on Saturday to succeed Pervez Musharraf, who was forced to resign August 19.
US attacks on border may hinder chances of help from Asif Zardari Times Online
Suicide blast kills 35 in Pakistan; Zardari set to take power International Herald Tribune
guardian.co.uk - Daily Times - Reuters - The Post
all 3,920 news articles


Voice of America

Rice Urges Morocco, Algeria to Resolve Western Sahara Dispute
Bloomberg - 6 hours ago
By Viola Gienger Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concluded her first tour of North Africa in Morocco today, where she urged the countries in the region to resolve the three-decade old dispute over the territory of Western ...
Rice presses African allies on terror cooperation The Associated Press
Rice holds terrorism talks in Morocco on last leg of tour AFP
BBC News - ToTheCenter.com - Reuters - ABC News
all 510 news articles

Google
 

Copyright © 2006 Computer Hunter - A Division of Arthur´s Job Base