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10/29/04: How do you cure a herd bound horse?

10/22/04: What do you do with a mare that pins her ears when you feed her?

10/15/04: Why do we mount on the left side? Is it merely tradition, or part of the horse’s physiology?

10/8/04: What do I do with my barrel racing horse that refuses to enter the arena?

November, 2004 Ask Monty >

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Question: How do you cure a herd bound horse?

Answer: Easy. You separate them…

While that is too simple of an answer, it’s basically what you do.

If your horse panics when his buddy horses leaves the property without him, it is a herd bound horse and needs to be de-bonded.

A horse that goes crazy when its companion(s) are away is a danger to itself, others and property. Separating your horses gives them the opportunity to learn they can survive by themselves. If you have a small property and separation is not possible in your circumstance, you have another option…

Borrow a friend’s horse. Have an agreeable friend “trade” animals with your for a short period of time. You take care of their horse while they take care of yours temporarily. Let your horse spend some time in a different location. Simply shift your horse(s) around for a while. The de-bonding process will occur over a relatively short period of time.

From a safety perspective, it is a necessary thing to do.

~ Monty

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Question: What do you do with a mare that pins her ears when you feed her?

Answer: If a horse should own any part of the day, it’s when they’re eating. When you feed a horse, leave them alone. Get the feed to them as easily as you can without mixing in at all, then leave them alone. Give the plenty of time to eat. This is not a time when they ought to be pleased with having you in their lives. Horses that are cranky when they’re fed are cranky because they want you out of their life and they want the tranquility of being able to eat without being bothered by a human being. You wouldn’t want them coming and hanging their head over your table when you’re having lunch, and they feel the same way. So, it is best to leave your horse alone when you feed them.

~ Monty

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Question: Why do we mount on the left side? Is it merely tradition, or part of the horse’s physiology?

Answer: We mount on the left because horses ridden by human beings were first ridden in war. You wore your saber down the left leg, if you got on the right and used your right foot to put in the stirrup you got all messed up with your saber. It became the near side of the horse a lot because of the military. They would teach young recruits how to get on their horse with their saber, rifle and backpack and they did it all from the left. All the rules and regulations of the military were outlined from the left side. It became known as the near side, and the other side known as the off side because of those reasons. So through the millennium it became the habit of all people that worked with horses to work from the left side. Most people that worked with driving horses would work from the near side because the harness was geared to be buckled from the near side, the bridle and headstall was geared to buckle from the near side. Horses are habitually worked with from birth from the near side so most horses respond better from that side.

~ Monty

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Question: What do I do with my barrel racing horse that refuses to enter the arena?

Answer: This is a question that comes to me from almost every group of people I address. Barrel racing is a unique activity. It is virtually the only contest where the horse is encouraged to run into the arena at top speed. This by itself is a technique designed to encourage undesirable behavior. Consider that the barrel horse is asked to run full out into the arena, blast through a prescribed course, complete the course and then run as fast as possible while usually being whipped. Once outside the gate, I’ve witnessed barrel horse riders jerking the horse’s mouth with both hands to get him to stop. Then, consider that the rider will wait around for awhile and ride toward the arena to ask the horse to do it again. Horses are not stupid. Why should the horse ever want to do that again? It amazes me how cooperative barrel racing horses are under the circumstances.

For this answer, I would like the reader to understand that there are several gymkhana events that essentially fall into this category. For the gymkhana trainer and rider, I would like to recommend these same procedures. It is necessary for the gymkhana participant to tailor the course pattern appropriate to the activity in question. I recommend that the training sessions for barrel racing horses should be accomplished with four barrels in the arena. I believe that the horse should be brought into the arena in a calm, cool fashion and that he should be ridden at a walk for a few minutes. Then, begin the schooling process in a constant ongoing fashion. When the third barrel has been executed, there is another barrel course in front of the horse. You should execute the second course and then return nonstop to the first course. The schooling session might be done at the walk, trot, canter and run. I recommend that the process then be reversed so that you end your training session at a walk.

You should allow the horse’s adrenaline to fully subside. I recommend that you dismount in the center of the arena and either sit on the ground, or walk with the horse for several minutes to completely disengage the horse from the training process. Having accomplished each of these tasks, then you should lead the horse out of the arena.

If it is possible to vary the gates used in the training sessions, this is desirable. The barrel racing trainer should pause to consider how long it takes to train a horse to run out through the arena gate. I suggest that this can be accomplished in one or two training sessions, and should in no way be a part of the daily training routine. I maintain that whipping the barrel racing horse is highly overrated as a means to lower the total time. I have been impressed in recent years to see that many barrel racers are using a short piece of rope fixed to the saddle horn that they flick back and forth in front of them to encourage the horse to run faster. This is seldom a pain producing maneuver and is far more effective than a burning whip.

~ Monty

(this is a reprint from the 2003 Issue 4 Join-Up Journal)

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