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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Day 16 – Phil’s Courage’s Journal

If you drop the rope you have now taught your horse that if he struggles he will be released. The purpose of the exercise is to teach your horse that if he gets a leg caught he is to stand still and he will be released. I am sure everyone knows of at least one story where a horse got caught in wire, fence, underbrush, etc. and severely damaged muscle, tendons, or ligaments because he fought to free himself. Again, I repeated lifting his leg and released as soon as he relaxed. This was repeated on all legs.

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Day 10 – Phil’s Courage’s Journal – Tying

Today’s lesson: Tying

This morning I tacked Phil up with a heavy roping saddle. Phil was unconcerned about the saddle, so I did not have to desensitize him to the saddle. I did not “tip toe” around Phil, just because he has never had such a big, heavy saddle on his back. If I was concerned, then Phil would feel he needed to be concerned. I was respectful not to just plop the saddle on his back.

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