Skip to main content

BATH TIME



Hello, 

Today we will continue with the process in preparing the yearlings for tying and bathing calmly and safely.

Teaching new things to a yearling is a lot of fun; bear in mind that they are constantly reading our body language and that our attitude and energy plays an important part in order that the experience be a positive one. Enjoy the process and take it calmly, like if you were teaching something new to a very young child. 
In the Parelli Method we say we must use Love, Language and Leadership in equal parts. 

In the following video I will show you the summary of the process I did with Hakasan:

My Objectives: 

1- Achieve the acceptance of water throughout his body including his face!  I accomplish this by doing slow and friendly approaches.

2- Achieve that he stand with trust.

3- Afterwards we try this in the wash rack, not tied, we want him to accept the water without feeling claustrophobic.



Last week I did not tell you the name of the knot I showed you in the last video; Pat Parelli showed it to us with the name “ Bank Robbers Knot” due to it’s quick release action [I love the name and can imagine a cowboy from the old west getting away after robbing a bank!]. Learn this knot!; if you use it correctly you could save a horses life!
To help young horses learn to be tied we use the bank robbers knot and a piece of inner tube from a bicycle tire. I learned this tool from from Dr Robert Miller, in the following video you will see how I use it along with the bank robbers knot tied to the piece of tube in order to prepare the bathing stall.

The advantage the tube gives us is that if the yearling frightens and reacts with the opposition reflex the pressure created by pulling and sitting back will be relieved by the inner tube which will stretch and give until the yearling finds the correct answer; moving forward which gives him relief. For security a cord which breaks easily is sometimes used instead of the inner tube. The idea is to prevent the yearling from having a bad experience by feeling trapped. 



Now we will see how Hendrix behaves during his bath! Alex shows us an excellent relationship of trust and good handling during the bath. 




We will continue next week! We will show you how we introduce elements which we will put on their body! Don’t miss it!

Ale 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Preparación para ser atado y el baño

Hola!!  Hoy; como les prometí la semana pasada les traigo la primera parte del proceso de cómo preparar los potros y potras para que estén atados en un lugar. Cuando esta situación no se prepara adecuadamente puede terminar en un accidente; pues los caballos jalan y pelean contra la presión que tienen en su cabeza; sentándose hacia atrás de forma violenta al sentirse acorralados y esa experiencia marcara su vida para siempre. Mi opinión personal es que, "abuso", no es solo tratar mal al caballo con castigo, dolor o intimidación. Para mi el  no  enseñarle al caballo cosas básicas de manejo también es una forma de abuso puesto que el caballo se vera expuesto a situaciones donde simplemente no va a saber cómo reaccionar y su instinto de animal presa va a ser su primera opción.  Cuando vemos un comportamiento extremo o peligroso en un caballo, lo natural es preguntarnos : Qué le hicieron a ese caballo?   Pero lo que debemos preguntar no es...

Getting Ready for Deworming

Getting Ready for Deworming Hi! Thank you for being here this week! How many times have we all tried to deworm our horses or give them oral medications which turned into a struggle and we end up resorting to force? Administering any type of liquid or paste medication like a dewormer can be a challenge if we do not prepare the horse previously. For us, or better yet, from our perspective it is something so “simple” and we assume that it should also be this way to the horse- he should accept this with no problems! When the horse resists we resort to force, this turns into an uncomfortable procedure for both the person doing the administering and the horse and we end up not knowing for sure how much of the recommended dose the horse has actually received.   Today I would like to share the process we use in order to prepare our colts to accept anything we administer orally without resistance and calmly .   The procedure is easy ! Pat has a ...

Train Your Seat Trainers Forum

This summer, I had the most incredible opportunity to travel to the Netherlands for the Train Your Seat Trainers Forum. I have to say, it was nothing short of magical. But this trip was even more special because I got to share it with my wonderful friend and colleague, Trish Tweddell. We had a fantastic time together, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. Before we dove into the forum, Trish and I decided to spend a day in Amsterdam. And wow, what a day it was! We visited the Bodyworks exhibition, and I admit, I didn't expect it to leave such an impression on me. Walking through the displays, I found myself fascinated by the intricacies of the human body, and it got me thinking about how all of this connects to what we do as riders. There's something about seeing the body in such a detailed way that makes you appreciate how everything is connected—how our internal organs, muscles, and bones all work together in harmony. It felt like the perfect prelude to the forum, wh...