Pulling the trigger

 

There comes a time when you are training a horse that you have no other option. You just have to pull the trigger and hope that all goes according to plan. I have been working with Domino an 8 year old unhandled mare. We started our work together in a gentle way. I would feed and water her in the morning and clean out her yard. As she became familiar with the routine, she soon became confident that I was not a threat and would move off the fence and investigate me as I was mucking out or feeding. It was not long before she initiated first contact and I was able rub her all over, something she began to really enjoy.

With our relationship developing I introduced the rope halter into the morning ritual of a body rub. I was so pleased as she became accepting of my touch with the halter. Perhaps this initial success made me over confident with respect how she was feeling about being handled. With the halter rubbing going so well I began to advance and retreat over and around her nose in preparation for gently drawing the halter nose band up over her nostrils and nose area. If I applied too much pressure, she would turn her nose away. I would wait until she relaxed, let go of her tension and brought her nose back to the poised halter. After a lot of work in this area she felt comfortable with the nose band open ready to be drawn up over her nose. It was all going well until she felt the nose band being drawn into position. It was too much. Her escape was to blow sideways to escape the dangers of the advancing creature. I didn’t hold onto the halter what was the point? When 550Kg blows sideways there was no way she could be held. After the quick bolt her breathing was heavy, her eyes were glazed and the look of relief on her face was palpable. Like someone who had just avoided a near death experience.

I was disappointed for both of us. From Domino’s perspective I had just betrayed much of the trust I had built up over weeks. From where I was standing, I had just made a big with drawl from her emotional bank and our training had taken a step backwards.  I was disappointed in myself too. Over the week ahead I backtracked and started at base level again until I built back up to where I had been, but I was equally ineffective in convincing Domino that she was not about to die. With my limited success the dumb thing to do would have been to continue the way I had. The result would have been to cement neurological pathways to even greater levels of ineffectiveness and so I would have trained Domino to avoid the halter altogether. Time to change tac.

I found a webbing halter that I thought would fit Domino. With both the neck strap and the nose band unbuckles I began to introduce her to the web halter during our friendly morning rub scenario. Domino accepted the new equipment and in a short time I was able to reach under her neck and massage the right hand side of her face and more importantly I was able to rub her nose with the open halter nose strap. This was all new to Domino so I took my time and her confidence grew. Like my old instructor Tom Roberts used to say, “Old Hat”. In Domino’s mind the nose strap didn’t hurt last time so It’s OK.

All the pieces were in place. Domino stood quietly and felt comfortable with the neck strap being done up and taken off and she seemed calm enough. Now I approached my nemesis as I deliberately threaded the nose strap through the buckle as I had done a number of times before, but I had never done it up. As I said there always comes a time in training when you feel you have done your best and you just have to pull the trigger and live with the consequences. I was at that stage with Domino. I knew that she was comfortable with each of the steps. Now we needed to see if they could all be combined.

Nothing new. The ritual rub. The neck strap slid up under the neck, over the head and buckled. Then for the nose strap. A gentle rub as the nose strap rolled over the nose and into the buckle. I knew that if things were going to go wrong, now was the time. A blow here would see her with the neck strap attached around her neck and the halter violently banging against her head. Now was time to Pull the trigger. I did up the buckle, held my breath and waited. Oh, I do so love anti climaxes when working with horses. Domino’s reaction was to stand quietly, fully relaxed looking at me with almost bored brown opal eyes as if to say, “No big deal”. A rub on the neck from me to say Thank you, then I did everything in reverse. I deliberately chose not to undo the neck strap and slide the nose band over her nose. I unfastened it first letting hang open and free to fall away. I wanted no surprises.

As the week past she became much more relaxed about the whole deal, and I was able to slide the halter off her nose. And yes, taking the nose band off lead to sliding it on, and yes once this was established she was comfortable with the rope halter. “Old Hat”, Web halter or rope halter, “Same, same, different” but still “Old Hat” it is OK.