Hobble Training: Cruel or No?

I recently got into a discussion with a friend of mine regarding hobbling horses.  She is European and from a dressage background, and she was vehemently against it, saying it's cruel and breaks a horse's spirit.  I argued that while that is perhaps the old West, bronc-bustin' reputation of hobbling, it can be done in a perfectly safe and humane way, and can have many benefits.

The benefits I have found include:

• It's an excellent way of teaching a horse not to panic if it were to get caught up in wire, rope, vines or the like. (Just do a google search for "horse caught in wire" to see some horrific accidents)
• It enforces your leadership position and builds trust.
• It is necessary (or at least preferable) for some trick training. (Eg., placing a horse's foot up on a pedestal, bow or kneel, etc.)
• It desensitizes a horse's legs to being confined or stuck. It may be necessary for a medical procedure, and a horse taught to hobble will not panic when it is done.

One important thing I must point out, is that a horse must be TRAINED TO HOBBLE. Like the one-rein stop it is extremely dangerous unless the horse has been taught what it entails and how to properly respond.  You must teach the horse in a safe, gradual manner, so they understand what is happening and do not panic.

So now I would like to hear your opinion on hobbles... yes or no?

How to Teach a Horse to be Hobbled.

I will post another article shortly on the ethics of using hobbles to train horses, after getting into a big discussion about it with a friend of mine.  I personally think it's a great tool, so if you are interested in training a horse to hobble, this is a method I find safe.

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!

More favorite products and cool things for farm use

Alcohol wipes For cleaning off cell phone and tablet screens, wiping down general sticky gunk from surfaces. I have always carried a few in my purse and now habitually use them to clean phone screens and my car display screen.  Funnily enough, I just recently saw them marketed (for quite the markup) as "electronic device cleaning pads". Guess somebody stole my idea! 

Game sled for dragging hay bales and mucking stalls. I actually bought this sled to use on my small farm to drag hay bales in behind my tractor.  It works much better than I expected, and I plan to buy another!  Even though I don't use it on snow, but over a rocky driveway, it has held up amazingly well, and allows me (an average size woman) to easily transport 2 bales of hay down the hill to the horses.  I can drag it by hand, or with the tractor or truck.  Excellent item!  The bottom is now beginning to be a bit abraded, so I will look for some sort of reinforcement for it, but after a couple years over rocks, no surprise!

Hoof Rasp (Heller) - I frequently rasp my horses' hooves between farrier visits to keep them from chipping and cracking.  The difference a new, sharp, quality rasp makes is amazing!  Literally a few swipes, and boom, you're done!  I had purchased a different brand new rasp last time, and I may as well have been using a cheese grater for all the effect it had.  Just one note... when using this, wear heavy leather gloves!  It will shave the skin off your hand before you feel a thing, and it's very easy to do.  Excellent product. 

Mesh Laundry Bags - These things are super handy for washing stuff like polo wraps and leg bandages.  Also useful for washing tack cleaning rags, tack sponges, and the like.  I also use them for washing my makeup sponges and powder puffs and all my million hair scrunchies. 

Of course, I would wash dirty rags and anything that might have horse poopies completely separate from all other laundry!! In fact, if a saddle pad or something is really dirty, I normally hose it off and do a first wash in a large muck bucket outside before putting it in the actual washing machine.  Sadly, I do not have the luxury of a separate barn washer and dryer, although those that have them are lucky!

Learning to stop « Life at Pretty Pony Pastures

Learning to stop « Life at Pretty Pony Pastures
(The following is a page taken from the above blog)