Baby Boomer Dreams, Submission and Arabian Horses

Since I have been posting a series about submission I thought I'd post some about my early days with the subject and where I've come. Even though it's been a while since I posted on the Baby Boomer Series, I left off with the birth of Scandalous Dare who was really a tough cookie when it came to submission. Despite the fact that she was so crippled up from being windswept, that darn filly thought she was born to rule the world.

Unfortunately for her, I had not met Harvey Jacobs yet. I had, however, had some time with John Lyons. I remember clearly John Lyons telling us that the rule of thumb for acts of aggression was no holds barred for five seconds. Then it was over. It didn't matter how old or how young the horse was. In the horse's mind, it's a horse, not a baby.

It sounded good at the time, but over the years, it just didn't have the effect I wanted in my horses. Granted they learned not to be aggressive but they also learned not to trust me much either. As much as I love my Arabian horses, having them fear me is just not part of the dream.

I can clearly remember that darn Dare teetering precariously on her crooked legs, snaking her neck and diving at me with teeth bared and she was only two hours old. Knocking her *ss over tea kettle did nothing to slow her down. I eventually landed on top of her, holding her down until she gave up fighting. Fortunately for both of us that tactic worked. Not because of what I knew, more it was pure accident. She and I have been fast friends ever since.

But that doesn't mean that she gave up all ideas about being in charge. She just gave them up where I was concerned. When it came to Dave and Lindsay, Dare was still a hellion. She's just been one of those horses, you don't dare give her an inch because if you do, you're going to pay.

So what is an inch to a horse like that? Well, it's just that, an inch. If the horse steps towards you and you back up a single inch to accommodate the movement, you have given up ground to the horse. Horses only move away from a horse who is higher in the pecking order. That is a major signal to the horse.

While we might think it's cute to have a horse come up and nudge us for attention or food, the message to the horse is another matter. Again we have let the horse move into our space. Allowing such behavior encourages the horse to test their position with us. That's not a desirable thing. It's actually contrary to submission.

Some people let horses push into the water buckets when they're being filled. Some people don't "bother" their horses when they are eating because they think the horse might be aggressive. I think if you have a horse that is aggressive when it's eating or drinking, you have a horse that shouldn't be trusted. That, too, would be a clear message about lack of submission in the horse.

I guess that would cover the three major points I've learned from Harvey Jacobs. Control the horse's feet, food and water and you control the horse. If the horse controls those things, you are at the horse's mercy. If you control those things, the horse is your willing servant.

I never back up from a horse. If a horse steps into my space, I make the horse move away from me at least double the amount of space the horse tried to claim from me. If the response is not made softly and willingly, I keep repeating it until it is.

When horses are feed here, they must go to the back of their stall and stand until they are invited to come forward. They can eat in our presence only if they are invited. Lots of times, I groom,pick feet, blanket etc while they are eating, making them accommodate my requests for moving away from their food in the process. If this isn't done willingly, I move them away from their food until their attitude is corrected.

The same is true with water. Even if the horse has been out of water and it's hot outside, it can not drink while we're filling water buckets unless they are invited. Any sign of flattened ears or stern faces and they are pushed to the back of the stall or away in the field. Again until the attitude is corrected. That means ears up, eyes soft, head relaxed and low.

Next I'm going to pick back up on the Baby Boomer series. There are stories of a lot more foals to tell.

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