Buckaroo Texan Blog

 The following tells about a session with a yearling filly getting haltered.  Each colt can be handled differently and should be handled as the situation presents itself.  You will be able to pick up ideas on halter training your baby!
Sassafras was recently weaned.  She was raised with her mom out on pasture, and although she has been around people and touched a little, even had her feet picked up a time or two, she has not seen a rope until now.  

I brought her into a smaller pen from her large pen with shed and room to run.   She was suspicious of the bucket with brushes and the rope in my hand.  She paced the pen wondering if there was an escape somewhere to go find mom.
No luck there.  She paused a brief moment or two, to look at me, then continued walking the perimeter of the small pen to find something better elsewhere.   To keep her from learning to just avoid me, I shook out a loop and threw a hoolihan on her.   She was startled and took off around the pen.  I didn’t let it get tight on her and just let her wear it.
The feel of the rope made her spin around but this gave me opportunity to throw in over her back a few times, let it drape around her legs and sides.  In a couple of minutes she settled down and was starting to look my way again.  Another horse try.

I started to apply a little pressure to get her to face me.  Timing and feel and watching her for a horse try, pretty soon she was ready to let me walk up and pet her, without her just running off, or walking off with no regard for me.

 She was beginning to see me as someone of importance.   Maybe I could be trusted after all, the rubbing sure felt good to her.   My goal was to halter her.  Maybe today, maybe not.   I shortened up the rope and held the coils in
my left hand.  I worked at touching her face.  When she would try to duck I would block her with my right hand or the coils of the rope in the left.  Pretty soon she could stay with me and get rubbed on the face.  I didn’t stay any
one place long, just until she gave me a horse try, then I would rub her elsewhere.   I brushed her all over, that felt good to a hairy, itchy, sweaty baby.   Aahhh she remembered some of this from last summer.  

I got to where I could lift a coil of the rope over her nose and over her face.  Then I worked at putting if all the way up her face and over her ears.  All the time going slow and looking for a  horse try.  If she got worried I slowed
down.  Just let her work at it and see that it would not hurt her.    About this time the stallion and mares showed up in the big pen next to where we were working.  Big distraction.  She had to leave; I gave her some rope, and
then worked at bringing her attention back to me a couple of times.  When she was really looking at me good, I slipped the rope off her head and walked away. 

 Enough for today, a good start.   I opened the gate to her pen and she followed me through and then went and found the water trough with not a look at me!!

My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.  

 Honoring the horse and horsemanship through the western buckaroo way- Jeannie