Man, once upon a time I would have sworn by the traditional method. And it still works in some situations. But these days I’m so much more likely to do less rather than more. It’s that whole “slow down to speed up” mentality. The smaller the steps, the easier to end on a good note!
Which size pen to separate herdbound horse? The smaller the better? UPDATE: the good and not so good
Well, yesterday we had a good session. Grooming first during which he was completely relaxed, then playing around with a water spray bottle. Yep Texarkana, I let him sniff it, of course it went into his mouth, then I sprayed fairly close although not on him. He stayed completely relaxed, no resistance. At the end, he even took a step towards the sprayer! Clearly he will adapt to it, I just went too fast.
The root of any problems is that I basically avoided handling him enough (ahem *let him grow up" was my nominal excuse) because I knew he would be a little complicated and spicy for my previously nonexistent colt-handling skills. Yeah, but if things are presented in small steps so that he has a chance to get comfortable he seems OK with them.
I’m so glad you had a good session!
Right there with you. I was not looking to add a baby horse into my chaotic life when she appeared.
But anyway, you can do this! While it’s always good to get help, don’t feel like you have to be a pro to make progress.
Just remember that horse training is not linear. Sometimes you go backwards. So don’t panic - just adjust what you are doing and keep the faith and you will move forwards again.
Yup, two steps forward, one step back! I’m so happy to the OP that progress is being made.