Pony Primavera, or How to Bond With Your Horse

Pony Primavera

     Well, not really. This is most definitely NOT a recipe for cooking horse!

      However, I will show you how to quickly, easily and gently form a bond with your horse that will probably last as long as each of you do.

     It requires a few things: You, your horse, a wooden pasta fork, and time.

     Other methods of ‘bonding’ to your horse involve a lot more expensive things. You need a soliid walled round pen, for instance. You need to have read a book by a man who claims that his method of bonding with a horse is based on equine behavior. His method involves a lot of bullying and intimidation on the human’s part and panic and running around on the horse’s part.  There’s not much ‘whispering’ in his methods. I would more liken it to “screaming”.

    He has gained fame by taking mustangs ‘right off the range’, apparently inspiring them to trust him immediately so that, within a few minutes, he can saddle, bridle and ride them (in the round pen).  

     Note that the mustang ‘right off the range’ has been chased for miles by a helicopter, is exhausted and thirsty, is frightened out of his mind, has lost touch with his band or family, is surrounded by eight foot high metal pipe fencing that refuses to give when he smashes into it (because he has no concept of ‘fence’),  is stampeded into a terrified crowd of equally scared and strange horses along with stallions who are furiously attacking any other male horse in proximity to his mares, and is also surrounded by humans who act like predators. 

   Allowing the traumatized horse the chance to stop and rest in a round pen with just one human is possibly the reason that Robert’s ‘methods’ work. He's said that 'release from pressure' is what makes the horse accept his unnatural actions. Let’s not repeat the rumor of drugging the horse that is, at this late date, impossible to prove. 

   It would be, let us say, informative, to see what became of the mustangs that Roberts supposedly ‘tamed’ after the cameras had stopped rolling and his Horse Whisperer circus had packed up and left town. I am betting my boots that once the supposedly ‘saddle broken’ mustang had rested, calmed down, and got something in its stomach that it reverted to being a wild animal. 

   Gretchen, one of the women in my barn, has a mustang mare. She was about three years old at the time with a filly at foot when she was removed from the range. Despite gentle handling, it took six months for Gretchen to even be able to TOUCH the mare, never mind saddle and bridle her. I believe it took two years before she could actually ride the mare. Gretchen admits that, had she known what she was getting herself into, she would never have taken on a mustang.

    In the years since Monty Roberts gained fame and fortune as a “horse whisperer”, he’s been found to be a charlatan.  

  

     What Roberts calls ‘joining up’ is not so much ‘joining’ as it is forcing a horse into submission. This isn’t hard to do, really. Horses are ‘pecking order’ creatures. The horse that wants to be alpha can be if he’s willing to do a bit of fighting. When he meets a horse that can intimidate him or beat him in a fight, he submits and…the fight is over. Horses feel no shame at being subordinate to another. This works in OUR favor, as when he relinquishes the leadership role to us, he doesn’t have to ‘think’ about what to do. But forcing a horse into submission is strictly that: force. Wouldn't it be better to have the horse willingly give you it's trust, its friendship?

    If you want to forge a strong, natural bond with your horse, I will teach you how. It’s cheap, easy, fulfilling, and fun.   

     My method was distilled from 16 years of professionally massaging horses. I’ve massaged many, many horses, most of them in pain of one sort or another. 

     My way of bonding with the horse is based on equine behavior. It works with all horses, no matter how trained-or un-they may be. It uses the same behavior as two horses use on each other. It is not meant to be a therapy, or a pain relief. It is meant solely to appeal to the mind and heart of the horse. Pain relief (or, in this case, itch relief), can then be considered a beneficial by product.

     Horses, when they’re relaxing with another horse, engage in “social grooming’. I’m sure you’ve seen a pair of horses, head to tail alongside each other, appearing to bite the other on the withers and neck. They aren’t biting, they’re scratching. Like anybody who loves a good back scratch, horses scratch the spots on the other horse that they know are unreachable with their own teeth. They are literally scratching the other horse’s itchy spots. 

Social Grooming. Photo by equinoxhorse.net

     Strange horses don’t groom each other. Horses on opposite ends of the social ranking ladder don’t mutually groom. A high-ranking horse will allow a low ranking horse to groom him, but he won’t groom the lower ranking one. It’s a privilege, then, to allow another horse to groom you.

         They only socially groom horses they know, trust, like, or want to mate with. The last one you needn’t worry about. Your horse will not want you as a mate, no matter how good you look.

     You are going to emulate another horse, and socially groom your horse. You are going to 'scratch' your horse.

     You may use your fingers. But a good scratching will wear your fingers and wrists out fairly rapidly. Few people have the necessary strength in their fingertips to really get into the horse. Also, your fingers tips are too blunt, too fat, to really get into an itchy spot on a horse.

     The best tool I’ve found for scratching a horse is a wooden pasta fork, used in Italian cooking (hence the title!).   Only wood has the necessary tensile strength and yet is forgiving enough to properly scratch a horse. 

Wooden pasta fork

 

Wooden pasta fork, side view

     Wooden utensils are getting hard to find. They’re homely and not very expensive.  Retailers want something that sells due to its appearance and that they can charge a hefty price for, not because it’s effective and yet cheap. The market is flooded with fancy silicon or metal forks or plastic junk from China. So, good luck, but do try to find wood.

      The peg ends should be round, beveled or flat, NOT sharply pointed.  It should go without saying that sharp-pointed ends will hurt the horse. When you find wooden forks, buy several. They’re relatively inexpensive, and if the stock manager sees all the wooden ones going out the door and the modern ones staying in the inventory, he may just order more.  

   The pasta fork must be the type with several pegs in the flat ‘face’ of the fork. See the picture. Do not use one with a scalloped edge around a bowl, as that style works around an itchy spot, not on it.  A long-handled one allows you to use leverage if necessary. You will find yourself grasping the head of it, which is fine. You may even want to cut off the handle, but the handle does allow you to reach under a belly. You’re going to be putting a lot of pressure on the fork, using your wrist.  I never massage a horse without using wrist supports, but you needn’t worry about that when scratching a horse.

   Now that you have all the equipment you need to bond with your horse, let’s get started. You are about to socially groom as if you were another horse.

   Take your horse into an area where you aren’t going to be interrupted by other, nosy horses. It can be anywhere. I like to scratch the horse in his stall, as then I can work on him without halters or lead ropes. But it’s okay to work on him in cross ties, or just holding him on the lead rope. I like to have a quiet area, one without a radio playing. Without the distraction of a radio I can better listen to my horse. I will ‘scratch’ Raven in the center aisle of the barn and horses on either side will be watching from their stalls. They begin to beg by making a racket to get my attention.  They will be envious, saying, Raven is enjoying something and I am not, I want it too.

 

   If he’s never been scratched with a pasta fork, let him smell it. He may want to taste it or bite it. Allow him to do so on the handle, not the pegged face. Tell him you’re going to scratch him. I’ve taught my horses to anticipate a treat or something nice by saying “Who wants scratches?” with the emphasis on “who”. I’ve never met a horse that didn’t pick up on the question within minutes.  

     Then, begin. Start scratching with your fingers in areas where you know he’s usually itchy. These spots are usually the withers, the shoulders, the sides of the neck, the brisket. The stars in the picture show where horses most often like to be scratched.  If you note, these are areas he cannot reach himself. It is not inclusive. Experiment, scratch him all over and see what he likes and what means nothing to him.   A good rule of thumb is to test for itchiness in areas where he cannot scratch (with his hoof) or with his teeth.

This photo of a  lovely chestnut was taken from pets4homes.co.uk. I inserted the stars showing where horses most like to be scratched.

     Once you’ve found a spot that itches and evokes a reaction from your fingers, switch to the pasta fork. Most horses won’t even notice the switch. With a horse new to scratching, take it easy. Gently scratch him with the fork until he understands what you are doing with it. Once he learns what happens when you bring the fork out (and say ‘scratch”), you won’t  have to start out with fingers.

       Experiment with how much pressure to use on the horse. You will be surprised at how much pressure a horse may want, and in what spots. Take it easy, and watch his reaction to scratching with the fork.

    His reactions will be unmistakable and immediately understood. The horse’s body language says “oooooh”.  When you find a spot that itches, he will raise his head, or twist it right or left, purse his upper lip, shut his eyes, or his lips will tremble. He may do one or all of them simultaneously. Sometimes the nostrils will pinch, not from pain, but with pleasure.  Once he learns what scratching does, he will really get into it. When I’m scratching his loins, Raven will stretch out and dip his back to allow me to really get into it. Sometimes I am afraid he’s going to collapse!

   While scratching, I’m also speaking to him, saying “scraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatch” over and over again. String the word out in a soft, sibilant voice. I really don’t know why I do it, or if it means anything to him. That’s just me. I’m constantly talking to my horses.  

   Sometimes the horse will turn his head and touch the spot that’s itchy.  He may begin biting it himself. Allow him to finish, then go right to the same spot and begin scratching it.

   If you are applying too much pressure, he will stop reacting with a pleasure look. He may swish his tail in irritation, pin his ears, fling his head or even move away. Apologize, wait a few moments for the irritation to subside, and continue scratching with a lighter pressure. If he still objects, move on to a different spot.

     Each horse differs in his reactions in different spots. Raven, a Hanoverian, likes it lightly over his left ribcage but hard on the right. I don’t understand this other than he’s probably built up (more muscle development) on the right side.  My Arab, Jordan, wanted a hard scratch all over.  Too light a pressure is tickling him, which is annoying, and too heavy a pressure can cause irritation.

 This is why the fork needs to be wood and made with pegs. It is the perfect material for applying and distributing the precise pressure the horse wants.  

    Some horses have itchy spots you wouldn’t believe. My neighbor had a lovely grey Arabian mare named Rose who adored having her udder scratched. Most mares will not allow anyone to touch their udder, but Rose was the opposite. The moment she saw a known udder scratcher approaching her, she would whinny a welcome and straddle her hind legs in the most obscene and suggestive stance.

   If you’ve never scratched your mare’s udder, ask her politely and gently how she feels about it. You’re enough of a horseman to know when no means NO.  Pinned ears, a stamped foot, even an attempt to bite means NO. Don’t push it. Respect her decision. Scratching is meant to be a gentle, pleasant, and itch relieving experience, not an exercise in dominance.

   I shouldn’t have to say this but I shall…do NOT repeat NOT use anything but your fingers on a mare’s udder-or a male’s sheath. 

   Geldings and stallions might like to have the area just ahead of the sheath scratched,  where the navel is. (yes, horses have navels.).  Males will often drop their penis in response to a good scratching. This is why you want to be careful of where (geographically speaking) you scratch a horse. YOU know what you’re doing is perfectly fine, but if you’re doing the scratching in a paddock right by the road where non-horsemen and passers-by can see, it will appear as if you’re doing something obscene to the horse!

     Take your time. He will tell you when he’s had enough. Go over the spots you scratched earlier. If there is no reaction, he’s had enough at that spot.  Just as in humans, the itch receptors in the skin get overloaded and stop being itchy. If he’s not itchy there anymore, go on to another, or just quit for the day.

    In polite and civil equine society, social grooming is reciprocated. The horse new to your scratching him will want to ‘groom’ you in return. Do not allow it.  Their teeth hurt and can injure you. They have no idea how strong their teeth are.

   Don’t be rude in rejecting his attempt to groom you. Do not punish him for what, to him, is civility.

     Thank him for offering to reciprocate, but say “No thank you, humans don’t like it.” This is for HIM because you are his friend. This is “you and me” time, horse. When he tries to nibble in reciprocation, stop scratching, gently but firmly press his nose away from you, and continue scratching. He will catch on that he is the total recipient and that he needn’t try to reciprocate. 

      Other horses like having their docks (tail heads) scratched, bellies, especially the girth line, and under their chins.

     One spot they especially like is at the base of the mane, along the crest. This is where you must press down hard to get to the roots of the mane hairs. It’s where the pasta fork excels, because your fingers cannot exert that much pressure in such a small area. Again, judge how much pressure he wants.

       Be aware that some male horses, especially stallions, do not appreciate your scratching the roots of the mane. When stallions fight, they often grab or bite the crest. Some horses will take it as demonstration of aggression. Test your horse. If the crest gets you a “no”, respect it. 

 

Horses fighting, by RJ's images of nature.com. This is NOT the impression you want to make!

    You will know you are pleasing him when he looks at you with a soft, loving eye. He will heave a huge sigh of pleasure. He is bonding with you.

    It may take only once. With my Arab, it took two scratching sessions. Once I finished scratching him, he had bonded with me. He followed me without a halter, without my urging, wanting to be with me wherever I went.

   This, in my experience, is a far more natural, pleasant, happy way of bonding with a horse.

   Your horse will love it.

Clean your grooming tools!

   Last month I was pleased to be asked to accompany a woman to look at a dressage horse. She'd been shopping for some time. She wanted my unbiased opinion, something that just amazes me that she trusts my judgement...but I've been working on horses for many years.  She knew what she wanted: a warmblood, preferably a mare (no, I don't get that, but then, mares and I don't always see eye to eye) and within a certain price range. Said price range was, to me, in the nose bleed section, high enough that I could probably have bought a brand new fully tricked out pickup truck. 

   Road trips with horse people are ALWAYS fun. This one was no exception. It took several hours of driving to get to a lovely barn with lush paddocks full of gorgeous horses, some   with exuberant babies at foot. The drive to the barn was lined with oak and maple trees. The gate opened itself, and had a large wrought iron silhouette of a dressage horse on it. I am betting you can envision it. It was, without a doubt, a rich woman's barn.

   The owner said, oh, I'll have my help bring Mare out of her paddock and you can try her out. 
   She did. Mare was very nice but was covered in dried mud, as we'd had rain earlier that day and she'd taken full advantage of rolling in the resulting mud. Like my own Raven, Mare had the knack of getting mud EVERYWHERE, to include between her ears and an inch thick on her very lovely rump. But...I don't mind cleaning up a muddy horse. Rolling (when it's not in reaction to colic) is good for a horse.  When they roll, it's to get the kinks out of their back after standing in a stall all night. The mud cakes onto their hide and forestalls the flies, which, in late August, are numerous as the swallows have all left, preparing for migration.

I have trained Raven to roll on command, by the way. I'd rather see him roll when I can choose where (like inside a nice, clean arena) rather than in the mud hole in his paddock.

Mare wasn't a dirty horse from neglect. She was just a dirty horse from being outside, like horses should be.

    What shocked me, though, was the owner's grooming kit. Her barn was immaculate and beautifully appointed. She was walking about in riding boots that probably would have cost me a month's pay. She was a professional who could afford to hire people to do the manual work. Her fences, her horse trailer, her very appearance, was spotless. She's a pro in the horse breeding and showing world. And, to be honest, despite her obvious wealth, there isn't a bit of snob in her. But her grooming kit looked as if it'd been thrown out after ten years of scrubbing cars at the local High School fund raising car wash. 

    I am old fashioned. I prefer flat leather tack on my horses, no ''''bling''' (gads I hate that term) on me, or my horse, and I want natural fiber brushes. 

   The Owner of Mare's grooming kit had two plastic brushes with bristles so worn down I am amazed they actually touched the horse. They were FILTHY. One appeared to have been red and white at one time but you couldn't tell for sure. 
    Her rubber curry combs were worn to nubbins. And she knocked the big chunks off the horse using a METAL curry comb.

    Aggghhhhhh! But I said NOTHING. It was not my place to say anything. Still, I wanted so badly to snatch the nasty brushes and the metal curry out of her hands and say what are you, crazy???

   I learned to groom a horse from two people. The first was from the horse care books written by a wonderful author named  Margaret Cabell Self. The second was a cantankerous Irishman, a man who trained Thoroughbreds at the local race track, who hired me to walk 'hots' (at the age of 16, and much to the fury of my father). A 'hot', by the way, was a Thoroughbred who had just come off the track after a work or a race. One walked the horse cool. Now they use a 'hot walker' machine.
  Mr. Kelly, who'd grown up at tracks in Ireland and then moved to the US, taught me how to properly groom a horse, so well that to this day, I am the woman my friends want when it comes to bathing their horses for a test or a show. I'm NOT a show groom. My attempts at braiding a horse's mane are so poor that the horse is too embarrassed to come out of his stall. But I damn well can put a shine on a horse that will knock your socks off. 

  When I saw the woman's grooming kit, I had to bite my tongue.
  Must. Keep. Opinions. To. Myself. I thought, keeping my mouth firmly shut.  The horse is in excellent health and is well kept, what her grooming kit looks like is none of my business.
But I strained the hell out of my self control.

I wondered. How could the woman not SEE how bad her tools were? But maybe it's, well, she sees them every day. She doesn't think, she's grooming a horse and thinking of what she's going to do next. Maybe someone else does the grooming for her at a test. But maybe, too, it is a case where no one taught her how to groom a horse. One just...does it, you know? Maybe they teach it in Pony Club, but I don't know. But no one, it seems, thinks of how to properly groom a horse, and even fewer give any thought about cleaning their tools.

So I will do a quick instruction.

Rule number one, as Mr. Kelly so succinctly (and without his almost unintelligible brogue) told me, metal does NOT touch a horse's skin. The metal curry comb is to clean the BRUSH, not the horse. 

 

Metal curry comb cleans the BRUSH, not the horse.

So: Take one dirty horse. 
Take up your rubber curry comb. It is used to scrub against the grain of the hair in order to bring up dust, scurf, dandruff and 'knock the big chunks' off. Test to see how much pressure your horse wants. My Arab, Jordan, wanted a hard scrub. Raven, a warmblood, will tell you in no uncertain terms that you are scrubbing too hard!

Every once in a while, depending on the style of the curry and the amount of hair and dirt coming off the horse, knock the curry on the floor to dislodge the detritus. Mr. Kelly insisted on one knocking the curry in a row, so he could COUNT the piles of dirt to see if you were actually grooming the horse to his high standards.
Once you have done the entire horse, to include the heel bulbs! one takes up one's dandy brush.  Again, I prefer natural fibers, but they are going the way of the dodo, I am sorry to say. If yours is plastic, it's okay. 

Brush with the grain, starting at the poll and working one's way down the horse, top to bottom. Groom in horizontal 'bands', flicking the dirt down onto the band below your brush's length. End up at the belly. Brush down the legs, getting into the gaps between the tendons but be gentle.  End each stroke with a flick of the wrist to 'toss' the big chunks of dirt off the horse and onto you.  Every two or three strokes with the dandy brush, swipe it clean with the metal curry comb. (You may be different, I use both hands, the dandy brush in my left hand and the metal curry in my right when I'm working on the left side of the horse, and vice versa on the right.) Go over the entire horse. In some spots where the mud is an inch thick, keep currying/brushing until it comes clean.

Some folks brush the mane and tail. I know one person who doesn't touch a brush to her warmbloods' tail, merely sprays it with a detangler and pick out the grass, etc with her fingers. I use a human hairbrush on Raven's mane and forelock but not his tail, for that, I use detangler, too. If you don't mind split ends, use a mane comb, but I won't. Sorry. They're too damaging. 

I don't curry a horse's face. I gently brush it, covering each eye with one hand in order to keep dust and dirt out of it, as well as preventing inadvertently hitting him with it.
Scrub the hooves, if they're muddy, with a plastic scrub brush (remember this tool, as it has a part to play later) and pick out the feet with a hoof pick. 
 

Plastic scrub brush for cleaning hooves, and, when clean, scrubbing grooming tools.

If you want, then go over the entire horse again with a 'body' brush. In my case, it is a soft brush made of horse hair, but again, there are synthetic fiber ones that are soft enough for the purpose. The body brush gets the fine stuff that the coarser fibered dandy brush doesn't dislodge. 

If I'm feeling extravagant, I then take a microfiber cloth over the entire horse (save mane and tail and hooves) to put a shine on him.

Now: Let's clean your tools.

You don't need to clean them every time, unless they're plastic. Natural fiber brushes can take cleaning but you don't want to over do it, unless you don't mind buying new ones ever few months.

You will need:
A bucket, filled with hot water, a capful or two of bleach, and a glop of  soap such as Murphy's oil soap.  Make it all sudsy. 
Rubber gloves for you.
A hose with a sprayer on it. 
A CLEAN plastic scrub brush.
A work spot where you don't mind water puddling up.
A nice hot day with sunshine, or, if it's raining or winter, a heated room.

Ready?
Separate all your tools. Brushes in one pile, currys in another, and everything else in a third.
Take your plastic brush in one gloved hand and the finest fibered brush..in my case, the horse haired body brush, in the other. 
Sploosh the body brush in the hot, soapy water. Get it good and wet. Brush the fibers with the CLEAN plastic scrub brush.


Place it aside. Take the dandy brushes and clean them the same way: swooshing them in the hot soapy water, scrubbing with the plastic scrub brush, setting them aside.

Place your rubber curry combs in the hot water. Using the plastic scrub brush, scrub the curry with the plastic brush UNDER the water. Unless, of course, you want to spray bleachy water all over your jeans.
Place them aside.

 One type of curry comb is oval (it's the blue one in the picture.). It collects hair very well but is a booger to clean. I use a knife or a hoof pick to clean all the hair out, but I recently discovered that a vacuum cleaner does a great job of sucking all the hair out. Scrub under water with the plastic scrub brush. 
 

From left: body brush (synthetic fiber), dandy brush (natural fiber), body brush (horse hair), a second dandy brush, natural fiber, and the blue plastic curry comb which I don't know what it's officially termed. These brushes have been rinsed and put out in the sun to dry.

Clean your other tools: sweat scraper, hoof picks, etc in the now pretty dirty water.

Now, with the hose, start 'rinsing' the brushes and other tools. Get the spray to the roots of the brush fibers but don't soak the hell out of them, just enough to get all the soap out. The plastic curry combs rinse in a minute.

From left: rubber curry combs, hoof picks, a wooden pasta fork, aluminum sweat scraper, hoof picks, human hair brush for mane and forelock. 

Set everything out in the hot sun to dry. When you first set out a fiber brush, set it handle side UP to let the water drain, but don't let it sit this way for long, as it will deform the bristles (if they're natural fiber.) Then turn them bristle side up, in the wind and the sunshine, and let them sit for several hours, or until nice and dry.

Vacuum out your kit itself, or if it's plastic, hose it out, turn it up to drain and dry, and you are done. 
Now you have nice clean grooming tools. 

If you wonder why I have a wooden pasta fork in with the picture, I made a post years ago about how I use one on my horses to do 'social grooming'. It's more to make the horse happy than any real grooming use, and I should dig out that post and re run it. But it may be too, that from a blog I no longer have, so I might just have to re-write it. Oh darn.