horse torture

[aladatrot]

Had my horse cooper being a saddle stand tonight so I could get a coating of olive oil on the new saddle. Once I got bored with that, I figured I would get coop used to a rope. I'm no roper, so I really have no idea how to teach a horse to rope or to pull from the horn. I started out just flopping the rope all over him. This progressed to snugging the rope up around the saddle horn and pulling in every direction I could. When this got no reaction, I decided to practice some worst case scenario rope mishaps. I ran the rop from the saddle horn under and over him at his flanks and then around both back legs. Then I started pulling. Nothing. I ran it under his tail and pulled back and forth. Nothing but a single tail lift. I finally ran the rope in a way that would cinch up in his flanks and then just above his hocks. Still no freak outs. I tried swinging the rope, getting it around the saddle horn, and then pulling hard once it contaced the horn. Nada.

Satisfied that my little cooper was okay with a rope, I moved on to feed sacks and plastic shavings bags. Tied one to the back saddle strings so that it layed on his butt like a blanket, one on a set of strings hanging at his flank, and then a full sized feed sack on a front string at his shoulder. I then commenced to rapping and flapping on the sacks. I did manage to get a head lift with this, so I was confident that coop was alive. Tossed him into the round pen wearing his garb to sort it all out, and he never broke a trot. Bags blowing in the wind, making noise, and scraping against the sides of the rails. I was pretty happy with my useless little horse.

Cheers
M

[craig]

sounds like you have him ready to pack and drag hogs.. 

[lightningh]

Thats about what i do with all my colts before we start working em... all thats left is to get on him on go to em! 

[S_J_KENNELS]

Sounds like he is ready to ride. Like lightningh that is what we do to start all our colts as well. When your ready and have rode him for awhile get you an old tire and tie a rope to it to drag. As the colt gets used to that and pulls it good you can move up to a heavier tire or log to get him used to pulling.

[Circle C]

What Mandi fails to mention, is that this horse was born broke. One of his first few rides ever, we turned out at 10:00pm during a full moon, and she rode him up to the bay. Hog was killed, and he was just sniffing it. Only thing that bothered him at all that night was a small mesquite rubbing his belly. I am not sure why she is surprised that the rope and bags didn't bother him. His second hunt he had a hog tied off to his saddle.

[aladatrot]

But he has always hated things flapping around him, and saddlebags drove him nuts. He as well hasn't been fond of ropes. I don't know what has changed, but it darned sure wasn't me working with him. Last night he just took it, no questions asked. I was pretty stoked the other day when I climbed on him in a sure enough wind storm to try my new saddle on him. He hasn't been touched in a couple months and he should have been fresh. He worked off just fine. We even had a good go of working on a spin which I am glad to say is progressing well.

I want a sportscar horse. I want him to jog and lope the rail like a pleasure horse, sliding stop, flat correct spin, cut a cow on a loose rein, and drag hogs out of the woods. Gonna see how close I can get cooper to my ideal, and if he isn't exactly what I want when I finish him, I will sell him and try another one. He has always pleased me with his blind trust and his willingness to bear with me and go where I ask. That poor booger would try to climb the barn if I asked it of him. I have a really nice stop on him already, and he can break at the poll and jog almost as nice as a real pleasure horse. I need to slow his lope to a crawl (which I think he is ready to do anyway), finish teaching a spin (we can get halfway around quickly and correctly already), learn cattle, and learn to pull from the horn. Everything I'm thinking will come along nicely, but I am going to need to enlist help for the cattle and cutting part. I hope he works!
Cheers
M