Starting a Young Horse Part 7

While I know this was meant to be a daily log, I am having a hard time getting this out to all of you on the weekends. I really appreciate you checking in with us daily, but please bare with us until we get this established and a routine set for me so that you will be able to enjoy the blog on the weekends.

Now, like I said my horse has been living in the round pen, because I have not been able to have him come to me and put a halter on. I could have taken 3 or 4 people out there to corral him and catch him, but that would defeat the purpose I had planned for this horse.

My goal for the 4th day was to have the horse turn to me and wait for me to walk to his shoulder and today, I wanted to be able to rub his nose, ears and around his eyes. I wanted to be able to put a halter on him in the next couple of days, so I wanted all of this to be a happy experience. I continued with the same daily routine and pushed on from his shoulder toward his head. I was able to let him have a pleasant experience with the gentle rubbing, ever inching closer to his eye and down his nose. The ears are always a little more touchy, but it is very important to be able to rub these gently so that they are not afraid when you put the halter on and then later when you want to trim the ear.

Over the next couple of days we worked in this manner until I was able to rub the horse all over his body. This is really a enjoyable time for you and your horse. You will really establish a relationship with your horse during this time. Now, I wanted to have the horse turn and come into me, if he was going to get the rub down he liked so much, I wanted him to come to me to get it.