First week with Amigo
Okay, we named the new guy “Amigo”. He is a very willing horse, though still pretty timid. He has been particularly stubborn to yield his hind feet for cleaning or trimming. Our farrier came out to look at him, and when she picked up his hind (left) foot, he kicked and bolted twice. So, I had her quit trying so no one would get hurt, and scheduled her to come back in 2 weeks. Meanwhile, guess who is getting about 15 minutes of foot training every morning AND evening… It is now Monday night, and we have graduated from the cotton lead rope stage. I use the soft rope to safely pick up his foot, and stretch it forward and backward without him being able to kick me. He is now letting me pick it up with my hands. Still too nervous for my liking, but a vast improvement over just a few days ago! Either he has been previously trained, or he is a fast learner. He can yield his hindquarters with little cue on my part. We’ll see how he reacts to slapping the ground with the stick and string next. That usually is a fun one to train, chasing them around till they stop moving their feet!
Frank