Grass Grabbing Goons!
14 Jun 2010 11:05 #1
by DavisRanch
Grass Grabbing Goons! was created by DavisRanch
You're riding along, happily chatting with your friend and enjoying the lovely mountain scenery. All of a sudden your hand and arm are yanked downward so hard you're pitched forward in the saddle, groping for handhold so you aren't dragged off your horse. Your horse just wanted a bite of that luscious green grass growing on the trail, but you didn’t see the grab coming. That was his brilliant choice and besides, he does it all the time. How to stop that from happening?
Since this is more of a retraining situation than anything, your role is critical. First, take a more proactive role and stay mentally present and 'aware' so that you can stop the behavior before it starts. You must teach him what you want and what is allowed. If you want to stop and let your horse graze, that's fine, but it has to be your idea, not his.
Teach yourself to be aware of your horse’s “ask”. He’ll usually do this two or three times before actually snatching the grass. Sometimes the 'ask' is condensed to a microsecond because he's learned that he doesn't need to ask, so your keen awareness is essential. The horse will look at the grass he wants--with his ears, his eyes and his nose. The order of his looking is usually ears, eyes, nose. However, ears and eyes may be switched with some animals. By watching for the first signal and stopping it right then and you will begin to curb the undesired behavior.
Pay very close attention and keep your conversation between you and your horse a priority--don't ride and chatter with a friend until you are able to keep your focus on your horse’s intentions. Remember to ride your horse every single step of the way. Give him a job to do—walking down the path or across the meadow while working on some lateral moves asking for a half-pass with a half-pass or a serpentine thrown in. Vary your gait from walk to trot to walk at intermittent intervals. Keep the ride interesting and his mind working so that he is not thinking of eating and watch those ears to know what he’s thinking.
If he snatches, you snatch back. Unless your bit is a curb, you would only pull on one rein, not both. At the same time give a squeeze with your calves. Soon, he will realize that the payoff for trying to eat grass is not worth the reprimand.
Here’s a trick that I use with small children. Simply take some baling twine and tie it to your bit and back to your saddle--either to the horn or to the D-rings (especially if and English saddle). Make sure the length allows him to turn freely and use his neck for balance on hills, but not long enough to reach down for the grass. This method is temporary. You will let him correct himself by hitting the end of the line that is tied at a specific length, then, when you notice he quits reaching, you would take the reins again--maybe go ahead and leave the strings on at first.. Or, you can buy a gizmo from any tack site that does this very thing if you prefer not to have orange strings alongside your reins.
Please ask any questions or post any comments by replying to this post.
Happy Trails!
Tanya Buck
[url=http://www.TanyaBuck.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.TanyaBuck.com[/url]
*******PRIVATE one hour riding lesson for $50, (normally $75) with mention of [url=http://www.285Bound.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.285Bound.com[/url], email
; must be within 20 miles of Conifer, CO.
Tanya Buck was born and raised in Carmel, California, where she grew up on a small ranch. A graduate of UC Davis, she majored in Animal Science with a concentration in Equine Reproduction, and a minor in English.
She is certified through UC Davis as an Equine Breeding Manager, is a certified horse show judge, and a Reiki Master. Currently, Tanya and her husband live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with five horses, three dogs, three cats, a couple of parrots and a bunch of fish.
Besides her passion for horses, Tanya is an avid Scuba diver, an active bicyclist, and loves to hike, snowshoe, read and write. She is currently working on two books, one fiction that needs an agent now, and a creative nonfiction about training horses written from the horse's point of view.
Tanya has been helping to bridge the communication gap between horses and humans for over 35 years.
Since this is more of a retraining situation than anything, your role is critical. First, take a more proactive role and stay mentally present and 'aware' so that you can stop the behavior before it starts. You must teach him what you want and what is allowed. If you want to stop and let your horse graze, that's fine, but it has to be your idea, not his.
Teach yourself to be aware of your horse’s “ask”. He’ll usually do this two or three times before actually snatching the grass. Sometimes the 'ask' is condensed to a microsecond because he's learned that he doesn't need to ask, so your keen awareness is essential. The horse will look at the grass he wants--with his ears, his eyes and his nose. The order of his looking is usually ears, eyes, nose. However, ears and eyes may be switched with some animals. By watching for the first signal and stopping it right then and you will begin to curb the undesired behavior.
Pay very close attention and keep your conversation between you and your horse a priority--don't ride and chatter with a friend until you are able to keep your focus on your horse’s intentions. Remember to ride your horse every single step of the way. Give him a job to do—walking down the path or across the meadow while working on some lateral moves asking for a half-pass with a half-pass or a serpentine thrown in. Vary your gait from walk to trot to walk at intermittent intervals. Keep the ride interesting and his mind working so that he is not thinking of eating and watch those ears to know what he’s thinking.
If he snatches, you snatch back. Unless your bit is a curb, you would only pull on one rein, not both. At the same time give a squeeze with your calves. Soon, he will realize that the payoff for trying to eat grass is not worth the reprimand.
Here’s a trick that I use with small children. Simply take some baling twine and tie it to your bit and back to your saddle--either to the horn or to the D-rings (especially if and English saddle). Make sure the length allows him to turn freely and use his neck for balance on hills, but not long enough to reach down for the grass. This method is temporary. You will let him correct himself by hitting the end of the line that is tied at a specific length, then, when you notice he quits reaching, you would take the reins again--maybe go ahead and leave the strings on at first.. Or, you can buy a gizmo from any tack site that does this very thing if you prefer not to have orange strings alongside your reins.
Please ask any questions or post any comments by replying to this post.
Happy Trails!
Tanya Buck
[url=http://www.TanyaBuck.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.TanyaBuck.com[/url]
*******PRIVATE one hour riding lesson for $50, (normally $75) with mention of [url=http://www.285Bound.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.285Bound.com[/url], email
; must be within 20 miles of Conifer, CO.Tanya Buck was born and raised in Carmel, California, where she grew up on a small ranch. A graduate of UC Davis, she majored in Animal Science with a concentration in Equine Reproduction, and a minor in English.
She is certified through UC Davis as an Equine Breeding Manager, is a certified horse show judge, and a Reiki Master. Currently, Tanya and her husband live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with five horses, three dogs, three cats, a couple of parrots and a bunch of fish.
Besides her passion for horses, Tanya is an avid Scuba diver, an active bicyclist, and loves to hike, snowshoe, read and write. She is currently working on two books, one fiction that needs an agent now, and a creative nonfiction about training horses written from the horse's point of view.
Tanya has been helping to bridge the communication gap between horses and humans for over 35 years.
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