19/03/2025
Had a nice change with this horse yesterday.
To get him to this point has taken a lot of patience, understanding and consistency. He has a crazy fear of ropes and just about anything going around his feet. The past couple of weeks I've really been targeting his fears and really helping him to understand what a soft feel is.
A few points of why it's good to rope your horse, your horse's feet and to have them confident with other things touching their feet.
• When roping your horse or touching them from a distance with a rope or even a flag whip when done right it helps teach them that it's just an extention of yourself. So it helps them be more confident in you, themselves and their surroundings. It can also help learn different forms of pressure.
• Roping your horse's feet and getting them to lead by the foot with a feel also helps them understand what you're asking in a more direct way and helps them use their brains because they actually have to really think. Understand the ask and feel the direction. It can also help them really overcome fears and builds more trust, respect and understanding.
• things or objects touching their feet, underneath the.m, behind the butt also requires them to have to use their brains and trust that whatever you are touching them with is not going to hurt them. This helps with having a quieter and more gentle horse.
Normally I'd use a regular rope but to help this guy along and bring him some ease I used a big fat softer rope. Sometimes to help the horse you have to make adjustments of what you're using and how you're asking. It's not about getting the horse better but rather getting them more sure.
Proud of this guy and happy that I get to be apart of his journey.
Stay blessed and enjoy the ride 🤠