Okay, I have three horses. I'm away right now, but I'm doing some research on how to solve some problems for when I come back.
All of them need to lose weight. They have free roam to graze, which I'm thinking is probably a bad idea... I've heard of putting them up in a round pin to lose the weight (and of course exercise.) How long do we do this, and do we do it with all of them at a time or only one or two? There is only one round pin, but it is a pretty good size. There is a barn with a few stalls that can be used, but it often gets very muddy so I don't like using it.
One of our horses needs to be taught to neck rein. What is the best way of training her? She is also hard to catch. I've heard of running her, and of making her time more enjoyable while I have her. I'll probably try a combination of both... unless there is a better idea. I also need to train her to barrel race. I've read that I need to start her slow and just kind of teach her what we want her to do. Is this right?
I have another horse who is very overweight. We haven't worked her very much, really. But I have tried lunging her a little bit, and she starts doing these huffs and almost looks like she's wanting to charge... it's kind of scary, actually. What do I do about this? Are the huffs just being tired from running, or is it being mad too? (I think it's probably being mad too...) We're probably going to sell her, but I want to get some weight off of her and have her more manageable before we do.
I have one other horse, my baby. He's a great barrel racer. But sometimes during shows he refuses to get into the arena. We've tried just chasing him in, which helps. He also start balking in the ring when he is in (only during shows). So far I've been able to get ahold of him and get him to start, but how do I stop him from doing this? Also, at times he chews the bit when he's bored. How do I stop this? And how do I get him to lift his feet up easier?
One more question... how do I bond with my horse? I know my horse pretty well in the saddle, but he doesn't really come running when he sees me. So do I just spend some time scratching him and that should help?
I'm sure a lot of these were total idiot questions and you're probably rubbing your head wondering how a horse owner could possibly be this stupid... hence the reason I'm asking before I get back, I want to be ready. Sorry for the long post, and thank you in advance for the help.
All of them need to lose weight. They have free roam to graze, which I'm thinking is probably a bad idea... I've heard of putting them up in a round pin to lose the weight (and of course exercise.) How long do we do this, and do we do it with all of them at a time or only one or two? There is only one round pin, but it is a pretty good size. There is a barn with a few stalls that can be used, but it often gets very muddy so I don't like using it.
One of our horses needs to be taught to neck rein. What is the best way of training her? She is also hard to catch. I've heard of running her, and of making her time more enjoyable while I have her. I'll probably try a combination of both... unless there is a better idea. I also need to train her to barrel race. I've read that I need to start her slow and just kind of teach her what we want her to do. Is this right?
I have another horse who is very overweight. We haven't worked her very much, really. But I have tried lunging her a little bit, and she starts doing these huffs and almost looks like she's wanting to charge... it's kind of scary, actually. What do I do about this? Are the huffs just being tired from running, or is it being mad too? (I think it's probably being mad too...) We're probably going to sell her, but I want to get some weight off of her and have her more manageable before we do.
I have one other horse, my baby. He's a great barrel racer. But sometimes during shows he refuses to get into the arena. We've tried just chasing him in, which helps. He also start balking in the ring when he is in (only during shows). So far I've been able to get ahold of him and get him to start, but how do I stop him from doing this? Also, at times he chews the bit when he's bored. How do I stop this? And how do I get him to lift his feet up easier?
One more question... how do I bond with my horse? I know my horse pretty well in the saddle, but he doesn't really come running when he sees me. So do I just spend some time scratching him and that should help?
I'm sure a lot of these were total idiot questions and you're probably rubbing your head wondering how a horse owner could possibly be this stupid... hence the reason I'm asking before I get back, I want to be ready. Sorry for the long post, and thank you in advance for the help.