12/20/2024
Some trauma is deep enough to damage a horse for life, and while Catch A Cloud is OK now most of the time, little things---little to us at any rate---can trigger instant fear reactions, one being throwing her head straight into the air.
I think that mouth fear is one of the worst, because mouth pain is easy to inflict with strong bits, strong hands, and the mouth is a sensitive part of the body. After we got Cloud someone told me that she’d known her during her showing days, and, direct quote, “They had everything in her mouth but the kitchen sink.”
If you ride horses, it makes you wonder why anyone would do something like that? There are so many better ways, and it’s not that common sense doesn’t tell us that fear is not training.
Anyway, Cloud does have her softer moments. She hasn’t had any rough riding or handling now for six years, but that thin line still remains, and it doesn’t take much to cross it. It is so much better to never instill fear than to try to get rid of it later. Try to be constantly aware of how easy it is to make a horse be afraid of rein and bit contact. What’s the saying---“Just don’t go there.”
Credit Tamarack Farms
https://www.facebook.com/share/QVLTptAWu2YXkj22/
