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Seasoning your horse at home
The word season has many
meanings. In horse terms, when we say a horse is "seasoned", we are referring
to his ability to perform under the stress of many sights, noises and strange
surroundings. We have to realize that a horse was a creature that had a
natural habitat of the great outdoors. Man has domesticated him and changed
his entire environment. But, his natural instincts are still fight or
flight. When something scares him, his first instinct is to kick out or run
away because he was a creature that was hunted and killed by predators. To
season him is to fit him by experiencing the things he will face and bring him
through fear.
So, when we think of ways to
season this creature of habit to all the new things he will face as a barrel
horse, we must become innovative. The more we can expose him to at home, the
less time we will have to spend on this at the shows. Here are some hints of
things that you can do at home.
One of the first places that we
can start is loading him into the trailer a long time before he is to be
hauled away on the first outing. We start loading them at a very young age
and make it a pleasant experience. To season them to leg wraps, wrap them
first in a stall and let them get used to the foreign things on their legs.
Do NOT wrap them and stick them into the trailer. Some of the things you can
do are to take short rides around the section line and feed them in the
trailer. If you get them started off right, they will always load and haul
for you. If you scare them by whipping them, get them pulling back or
refusing to load when they are young, you may have problems their whole life.
Most problems with loading horses are man made. Take some time with this and
give the young horse confidence.
We start out by introducing
everything to the young horses in the round pen or a small pen where they
can't run off and hurt themselves. Paint your barrels with bright colors.
You can buy stencils and spray paint and create stars, circles and writing on
them just like they do at the shows. Simulate flags hanging by tying plastic
sacks around. Place chairs, umbrellas and banners on the outside of the round
pen. Introduce only one new thing at a time. You can tie flags over the top
of your round pen to simulate the overhead flags at many rodeos. Start by
leading the horse up to the strange objects. Then drive him around the round
pen where he can look at them. The last stage is to ride him around them.
Don't be surprised if he gets scared all over again when you get onto his
back. This is because man rides in the area where the predators attack the
horse. This is a vulnerable spot because he cannot see up on the top of his
back. Be very careful approaching those same objects when you are riding him.
The next stage is to start going
to jackpots. Start at the level. There he will see other horses tied to
trailers, other riders, the PA system, dogs, cars and people walking around
and sitting in the grandstands or near the fences. Remember to approach the
fences and banners both coming straight at them and riding beside them. When
he is comfortable here, you can advance to local rodeos. You can haul in,
ride in the grand entries and ride around the outside of the arena and then go
home. Make it a pleasant experience. Take advantage of any events that are
near your home area. You can get a lot of seasoning time and avoid spending
much money.
People have gone to great lengths
to simulate the exact situation their young horses will face at the big money
futurities. I know a cutting horseman that duplicated the end of the coliseum
in Ft. Worth in his home arena. He duplicated the chutes and gates and
painted them the exact colors, etc. But there are some things you just can't
do at home. It is hard to simulate a live band playing, the contract acts,
loud clapping and crowds walking around. Things like carnivals, Ferris
wheels, etc. just have to be experienced at the local and state fairs. When
you start taking the young ones around the big rodeos, they will experience
walking on a lot of cement and many other things that are hard to duplicate at
home.
But, you can imitate many
situations at home. Be innovative, realize that seasoning takes time and be
careful to make everything a pleasant experience. Whip a horse when he is
frightened and then you will have a frightened horse that is confused. Work
through his fears. You will find that some of the greatest horses on the
circuit were some of the most frightened. A horse that will spot something
new will also spot your barrels. So, be patient. You will be so glad that
you did when you start to lay down your money and compete. Happy Trails
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