When Jasmine got here last May, she had a month old colt and a yearling colt both suckling on her. She was not halter broke and did not see the need in letting humans touch her unless she had her head in a bucket of feed. Both boys have been weaned for some time now, so Jasmine’s training started today (thanks to Mother Nature for drying out my round pen)!
All winter, Jaz has been getting friendlier by the day, even though I haven’t put much effort into her, except to worm, feed, and play with her feet. She enjoys being groomed and will stand quietly, sans halter, while I scratch all of her itchies for her. She’s still a little jumpy if I move too quickly, but she doesn’t go far.
Today was her first day in the round pen and my main objective was to teach walk and whoa, and get her used to the longe whip. The longe whip was easy. She quickly figured out that it was just another way for me to scratch the itchies. Walk and whoa were also very easy, almost making me think that she’s had a little training at some point in her past. But I think the whoa was just her saying “yup, I can come to a stop and not exert any more energy. No problem!”
In other words, she’s a bit on the lazy side. When I first asked for a trot, I had to actually tap her on the butt with the whip a few times. Rather than explode, she slowly ambled her way up to a jog. Barely.
I only did a few minutes in each direction, but in the end she had the idea. Whoa means stop and stand. Maybe look at the silly human to see if she’s got a treat. Otherwise, go forward. Right. Got it. Is it dinner time yet?
I have a feeling Jaz is going to be a very easy horse to train!
No comments:
Post a Comment