Baker training session 34 - clipping again!
I've had a busy week and weekend, so this was the first chance I've had to sit down and write about my last session with Baker. I worked with him last Wednesday for about 47 minutes. We started in the cross ties with a nice long grooming session. He was pretty filthy, so I had to spend a bit more time brushing him - he had no complaints though 😂. He has gotten so patient with tying that, yesterday when the vet was out for fall vaccines, I was out of places to put horses for a few minutes, and had to tie him at the tree where the wash pit is. He stood there so patiently, watching everything that was going on and just waiting for it to be his turn.
Anyway, back to last week. Once I had him all cleaned up, we moved into a stall and I cross tied him in there. It has been quite a while since I worked with him with the clippers, but we had started to make some progress the last time. He had gotten very comfortable with the clippers on his muzzle, and I was slowly working on getting him comfortable with them under his jaw. He was a bit fussy there the last time I worked with him. This time, however, was quite different. He was fantastic for his muzzle, so I spent a lot of time there, just making sure he remembered that it was no big deal. When I moved on to work on his lower jaw, his attitude never changed. He stayed very calm and willing, and even seemed to enjoy it. I still worked in spurts, so that I didn't overwhelm him. I would clip for a few seconds on one side, and, as long as he wasn't fussing, I would stop, praise him, and move to the other side to repeat the process. I went back and forth several times until his entire jaw and muzzle were completely clipped clean. He was great!
So, I decided to move on and work on a new spot - his poll. For those who don't know, the poll is, technically, the highest skeletal part of the horse. It is located right between the ears. It is common fashion, in eventing, as well as several other horse sports, to clip what is called a "bridle path". Basically, we clip about a 2-3 inch section of the mane, right behind the ears, where the top, or crown piece, of the bridle and halter will lay. This helps to keep things neat and tidy, and to keep the forelock (the hair that lies on the front of the horse's face) separate from the mane (the hair that lies along the horse's neck). This can be a very scary area for the horse to be clipped, for a couple of reasons. They can't see what you are doing, and the noise is intensified, because you are so close to their ears.
Baker was no exception here. He was definitely worried about what was going on. For this session, I just focused on holding the clippers up near his poll until he stopped fussing for just a second. As soon as he did, I would pull the clippers away, praise him, and move around to the other side to repeat the process. He was quite upset about what was going on, and he was doing a lot of head tossing. It took a while, but by the end, I was able to put the clippers up to his poll without him reacting. I ended things there. I didn't actually get to clip anything in that area, but that will happen when he gets more comfortable with the noise and vibration near his poll.
Once we were done, I led him back to the round pen. He has been leading perfectly, by the way. He walks right beside me, with no hesitation, and stops as soon as I ask him to. We haven't really been practicing, he has just been getting a lot more handling thanks to his recuperation. And speaking of that, today he finally gets to go out into a real paddock! Hopefully, he will behave himself, and not run around. He still has to stay quiet for another month, but if he can be quiet in the larger paddock, then he can stay out there. We'll see...
Anyway, back to last week. Once I had him all cleaned up, we moved into a stall and I cross tied him in there. It has been quite a while since I worked with him with the clippers, but we had started to make some progress the last time. He had gotten very comfortable with the clippers on his muzzle, and I was slowly working on getting him comfortable with them under his jaw. He was a bit fussy there the last time I worked with him. This time, however, was quite different. He was fantastic for his muzzle, so I spent a lot of time there, just making sure he remembered that it was no big deal. When I moved on to work on his lower jaw, his attitude never changed. He stayed very calm and willing, and even seemed to enjoy it. I still worked in spurts, so that I didn't overwhelm him. I would clip for a few seconds on one side, and, as long as he wasn't fussing, I would stop, praise him, and move to the other side to repeat the process. I went back and forth several times until his entire jaw and muzzle were completely clipped clean. He was great!
So, I decided to move on and work on a new spot - his poll. For those who don't know, the poll is, technically, the highest skeletal part of the horse. It is located right between the ears. It is common fashion, in eventing, as well as several other horse sports, to clip what is called a "bridle path". Basically, we clip about a 2-3 inch section of the mane, right behind the ears, where the top, or crown piece, of the bridle and halter will lay. This helps to keep things neat and tidy, and to keep the forelock (the hair that lies on the front of the horse's face) separate from the mane (the hair that lies along the horse's neck). This can be a very scary area for the horse to be clipped, for a couple of reasons. They can't see what you are doing, and the noise is intensified, because you are so close to their ears.
Baker was no exception here. He was definitely worried about what was going on. For this session, I just focused on holding the clippers up near his poll until he stopped fussing for just a second. As soon as he did, I would pull the clippers away, praise him, and move around to the other side to repeat the process. He was quite upset about what was going on, and he was doing a lot of head tossing. It took a while, but by the end, I was able to put the clippers up to his poll without him reacting. I ended things there. I didn't actually get to clip anything in that area, but that will happen when he gets more comfortable with the noise and vibration near his poll.
Once we were done, I led him back to the round pen. He has been leading perfectly, by the way. He walks right beside me, with no hesitation, and stops as soon as I ask him to. We haven't really been practicing, he has just been getting a lot more handling thanks to his recuperation. And speaking of that, today he finally gets to go out into a real paddock! Hopefully, he will behave himself, and not run around. He still has to stay quiet for another month, but if he can be quiet in the larger paddock, then he can stay out there. We'll see...
 |
| Baker turned 5 months old on Friday! |
Comments
Post a Comment