In this clip you’ll see our process for haltering. We “white glove” these little ones because every part of them is extremely sensitive and malleable. We strive to be gentle with the bones in their heads and avoid any pulling on their little atlases as much as possible. We’ll talk about skull bones, the atlas, and tying in a future clips.
We really want to point out that for the most part their little vibrissae (whiskers) have only touched their mommas, their feed, and the ground. Vibrissae have their own nerve and blood supply. There are areas of their developing brains that are dedicated solely to the sensory information that comes directly from the vibrissae. Think of them as high power feelers far more attuned than our hands but able to differentiate between hot and cold, soft or hard, wet or dry, etc.. For example, when a horse puts his muzzle on let’s say a saddle pad he’s not smelling it. He smelled it from quite some distance away. He’s not smelling it he’s feeling it. So you can imagine how our hands and all the unnatural things like halters feel new, odd, and often unsafe to a young horse. In preparing them for each step, even seemingly simple actions like haltering, we want to lower the stress and fear response. It’s our goal to present things in such a way as to make each next step a non event.
Not having a rodeo background I love the irony of Clayton’s experiences getting around and saddling up broncs helping him be such an amazingly gentle and efficient weanling and yearling starter. God’s always building your tool box.
Speaking of tools, traditional ones like the extra soft knotted horse rope Clayton uses the end of in the clip, are absolutely indispensable. The metal hondo at the other end of that same rope is curved so pressure can be released as swiftly as possible for learning. Again, it’s never about force at any point. We are looking for acceptance and the cool confidence that follows.
We sure hope this is all helpful!
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