Getting Ready for Deworming

Hello!

Thank you for being here this week!

Last week I received a WhatsApp from a Costa Rican friend asking me for help with her filly that had injured her leg. As with any other injury it required medicating and care and in order to do this she wanted the filly to enter a chute which she had never done before.  The only thing my friend had clear was that she did not want to do it with force; she needed to do it as she did not know how the filly would react to the medicating and the application of the spray which had to be done. 

In the end all went well, the filly entered the chute and allowed the medicating procedure to take place perfectly! The lesson this leaves us is to not wait until something happens to an animal in order to teach them to enter narrow spaces easily.  

Today I will show you the procedure taken when preparing the entering and exiting of narrow areas. I will also show you how we practice this on a daily basis with an exercise which brings great benefits; which is: teaching the horses to enter and exit places while backing up. 

We apply this practice from an early age, it helps us in the daily handling, helps in avoiding injuries as the horses await our signal before starting to back out without rushing or running over who is leading them. This practice puts us as the leader in the horses eyes as in the horses world the leader is the one that moves the other!

With this practice we are also preparing them for when they must enter the wash rack or chute for veterinary check ups or other procedures.  So I recommend this practice as a good habit in their handling.

In summary, in the Parelli method, we teach horses to respond in a positive way when we apply pressure; whether it is constant pressure as in “The Porcupine Game” or rhythmic pressure as in “ The Driving Game”

Just as important as these two games is “The Yo-Yo Game” which is when we look for equality in their forward and backward movement and “ The Squeeze Game” which is when we help help the horse overcome the feeling of claustrophobia when they enter or exit narrow places. 

We will be applying all these games to teach the horse to enter and exit spaces and to be braver and more respectful. 

Here are a few videos, in the first video I am showing how to apply the pressure so that a yearling, “Holandesa” backs up, first in an open space and after in the barn aisle way which is much more narrow. 

The secret is to apply the pressure progressively and release it as fast as possible as soon as she reacts positively to what we ask. In this video I am showing you The Porcupine Game with the halter.

• Now, Hawaiana will demonstrate the process in order to get the yearlings in the wash rack, the objective is entering and waiting.  You can see we enter and exit many times, we do what we call approximations and that I wait until the yearling does this in a relaxed manner. ( Here we are practicing both The Yo-Yo Game and the Squeeze Game of the Parelli method.

• Now entering the stall; this procedure is the same! First by applying constant pressure, ( Porcupine Game), and then applying rhythmic pressure,(Driving Game) we communicate so that the yearling enters the stall calmly ( entering the stall is Squeeze Game).

• With Habanero I am showing how he exits the stall.

• I love this next video! It shows Holandesa in March and then the video we just taped this week! Look how much she has grown! This is why we must prepare them, because hey grow so quickly!

Friends, this is the first part of the procedure, practice these steps one by one until everything flows, until the horse has no resistance .

The next step will be in preparing the yearlings to be tied . I will be showing you how next week! Don’t miss out on this! We will be avoiding many accidents.  

And remember: 

“ Take the time it takes so it takes less time”

Have a wonderful week,

Ale