Day 30 – Phil’s Courage’s Journal

Morning feeding: Even though Phil stood out of my way to pour feed, his posture was very upright and braced. He came within my 16ft feeding space. I asked him with two fingers of pressure to get out of my space; he ignored me. I told him with a stern “BACK” and a wave; he half-heartedly…

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Day 25 – Phil’s Courage’s Journal

Morning feeding: It was a fairly cool morning and many of the other horses were a bit rowdy, but Phil remained level headed and super polite. Still very much a colt….. I tacked Phil up. The “girthy” behavior has disappeared and bridling is a pleasure using the head down cue. I used a different bridle on…

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Day 20 – Phil’s Courage’s Journal

Side note: I use certain words like “NO” or “BACK” to help me raise my energy and change my facial expression, not necessarily to teach Phil to respond to the words. Eventually, he will make the connection between the words and my actions. These words are always said in the same authoritative tone.

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Day 19 – Phil’s Courage’s Journal

Morning feeding: I exercised Phil’s brain a little this morning. I asked him to back, turn on forehand and disengage his hindquarters. All of this was done with NO halter or lead and I had the distracting temptation of the food bucket in my hand. Phil respected the pressure from just my hand. Now, I…

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Day 18 – Phil’s Courage’s Journal

Ground Tying: I think this is really a neat concept. Ground tying gives your horse a say so in the situation. Think about it, if your horse is truly your partner then he will accept bridling, saddling, mounting, etc. by standing still. If your horse moves away from you during any of these activities he is telling you “hey, I’m not ready yet” or “I don’t respect you .” Ground tying is an easy lesson to teach, but it takes time and lots and lots of patience.

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