First of all, the horse must
know how to lead and have their feet handled calmly. Mine were also accustomed to dragging a lead
rope, and had figured out how to move their feet if standing on it and caught. Next,
you want to set the horse up for success, meaning not super fresh (Lunge, ride,
whatever first to get them a little tired). The ideal way to introduce hobbles
is when they are hungry and you have fresh green grass they are eager to graze….
They are generally less likely to fight and more interested in staying put and
eating.
The horse needs to have a halter and a long lead
rope on, so you can guide them if necessary.
I only had one horse try to rear and fall to the side, and I was able to
direct him with the lead rope to make sure he didn’t land on his head. (That was his one outburst, luckily). You
need a location with soft footing, but I didn’t like the idea of the round pen,
as the horse can hop about quite a bit in the beginning, and wanted enough
space to move with nothing they could hit, so I used an open field.
You want their front legs fairly close (i.e.,
horse standing square) when you put on the hobbles. Use very soft hobbles,
generally either lined leather cuffs or thick cotton rope. After putting on the
hobbles, stand back, keeping a hold on the lead rope, and being careful to stay
to the side (and out of his path), should he launch forward. Some horses want
to hop right into your space, so be ready to move out of the way!
If your horse doesn’t move, apply light
pressure to the lead rope, to encourage him to take a step. Again, be ready for
the horse to attempt to leap into your space. Let your horse figure it out on
his own, but keep hold of the lead line, so you can help keep him from getting
in trouble, and to help him balance. (Be sure to keep the slack off the ground,
so he doesn’t inadvertently get his front legs over it.)
Let the horse struggle with why his feet are
caught and what to do about it. They may
struggle for a little while, try hopping around, etc. One clever horse of mine promptly started
sniffing the hobbles and nibbling, trying to figure out how to untie them!
Eventually, the horse gets tired of fighting and will just stand. Be sure to praise him verbally when he does
this!
When he is finally totally relaxed and
standing still, you can approach him, tell him what a great boy he is, and
carefully take them off. I then encourage the horse to step forward to show he’s
no longer restrained…. Many are hesitant to move at first.
Hobbling should be repeated here and there to remind the horse not to panic when trapped by the feet. Like any training, you occasionally need a refresher!
