we have to 'catch' him! Soooo, the first thing to show
you is how I've asked my horse to "COME HERE".
You can teach your horse to come to you by snapping your fingers.
This sound is similar to what a Mother horse does to call her babies,
except that she strikes a rock with her front hoof to make the
'snap/clicking' noise. Give your horse some TIME to
understand what you're saying with your body language.....
after all, you don't LOOK like their momma!! We have 2 legs &
their 4 legs are ALOT bigger than ours!! By some TIME,
I mean to say that since horses DO have a small brain,
you'll have to repeat lessons a few times over a few
days or weeks, depending on how often you can spend
in the roundpen. And once they have learned,
you may need to give them a refresher course!
Remember, a horse is always testing you for the herd status,
so this is one way he'll try to get away with things.....
act like he doesn't remember the lesson!
Another way to look at this is to say that we humans
can learn something within the 'span of a quarter inch'
(put your thumb & forefinger close together),
while a horse takes the 'whole length of both your
arms spread apart' in order to comprehend the same thing.
SO, bring your sixteen foot catch rope
(click here for our description & use
of a catch rope)
& let's go out to your horse's pasture!
Now you may be
saying, "If I'm going to learn how to get him
to come to me, how do I catch him
in the first place!"
Good question! Food works well!
But
you've probably noticed in the past that horses
are curious animals, so if you
simply go out near him,
maybe even take a lawn chair with you, & turn your
back
on him, he will eventually come over to you.
Remember, you want to
earn his respect as his herd leader,
which will take lots of (quiet) patience.
Put the catch rope onto his head, face him & tell him
to "STAND"
(one of only 4 words he needs to know).
Then back away from him
slowly until you're at the end
of the rope. If he follows you, walk back to him
& say
"STAND" again in a forceful voice, then
back away again,
as slowly as necessary, so that he doesn't follow you.
When you get a rope's length away from him,
'SNAP' your fingers &, AT THE
SAME TIME,
pull on the rope, as pictured below.
off of the rope & 'REEL' him in with it.
rub him on his forehead.
Do this 3 or 4 more times, so he gets the idea.
Let him
"think about it overnight", & the next time
you go out
to him, do it all over again.
When you feel he's figured it out after
a few days of
repetition, "ask" him to come to you without
using the
catch rope, just snap your fingers. Be sure to reward him
each
time by rubbing him on his forehead. At any time
you feel he needs a
'refresher course',
use the catch rope procedure again.
Someday he may be too far away from you to hear your
fingers 'snap',
so let's also teach him to come to you
by using 2 of the ONLY words he
needs to know,
"COME HERE".
Put his catch rope on again, &
repeat the process,
but this time say "COME HERE", instead of
snapping your fingers. Be sure to remember to
allow enough time
for him to understand over a
few days, & to give him a 'refresher course' if
you aren't
able to be with him again for an extended period of time.
