Buckle up: Haltering horses in Visual Studio .NET

Drawing QR Code ISO/IEC18004 in Visual Studio .NET Buckle up: Haltering horses

The most important tools you have for handling your horse on the ground are the halter and lead rope A horse who has been properly trained offers no resistance when you slip a halter on his head The hardest thing about putting a halter on a horse is figuring out where all those straps are supposed to go Take a look at a horse wearing a halter before you attempt to put one on the horse you re going to catch If you understand the way the straps go on the horse s head and then hold the halter in your hand, imagining the horse s head inside it, you should have an easier time putting it on the horse Your instructor should guide you through the haltering process the first one or two times to make sure you know how to do it right Follow these steps: 1 Stand at the horse s left shoulder, facing the same direction your horse is facing 2 Place the lead rope in a loose loop around the middle of the horse s neck and hold it together with your right hand This step secures the horse and keeps him from walking away 3 Check to make sure that the crown strap of the halter is unbuckled The crown strap is the piece of the halter that goes behind the horse s ears and buckles at the horse s left cheek

4 With the buckle side of the strap in your left hand and the crown strap in your right hand, slip the horse s nose through the noseband of the halter by reaching your right hand underneath the horse s neck, as shown in Figure 11-1 5 When the horse s nose is through the halter, bring the crown piece up behind the horse s ears and buckle it so the halter fits comfortably not too tight and not too loose It s too tight if you can t fit a finger between the nose strap and cheek strap 6 Take the lead rope from around the horse s neck and fold it in your left hand, with your right hand holding the attached rope just below the halter

After you ve haltered a horse, you want to lead him out of his stall or pasture so you can tie him and put on his tack (I cover all these tasks later in this chapter) Use the following method to lead your horse safely in any situation (also see Figure 11-2):

1 Stand on the horse s left side 2 Hold the end of the lead rope closest to the horse s head in your right hand, with your thumb pointing up toward the horse s head Your hand should be about 6 inches from the halter If the lead rope has a chain at the end, hold the rope just below the chain so it doesn t injure your hand if the horse pulls back If you find you need more control when leading your horse, move your hand closer to the halter 3 In your left hand, hold what s left of the lead rope folded up Don t coil the remainder of the rope around your hand If you do and the horse pulls back, the coil can tighten, trapping your hand 4 Before you ask the horse to move forward, stand at his left shoulder, facing ahead, your hands holding the lead rope as I describe in the preceding steps Hold out your arm on the side of the horse to make sure he doesn t step into you when you start to move 5 As you begin to walk forward, give the lead rope a gentle pull with your right hand The horse should begin walking, keeping pace with you so you remain at his shoulder 6 To turn the horse while leading him, push your right hand to the right or pull your hand to the left and step in the direction you want to turn Keep an arm s distance between you and the horse if you ask the horse to move to the left to ensure he doesn t step on your heel The horse should follow your lead 7 To stop the horse, say whoa! and stop walking, giving a very slight backward tug on the rope with your right hand When leading your horse, keep in mind that your horse doesn t know which way you intend to go at any given moment Remember that your horse is much bigger than you and can t turn as fast or stop as quickly as you can You know you re about to turn or stop, but your horse doesn t Horses are very adept at picking up body signals They also learn voice commands quickly Give your horse a warning before you turn or stop Slow your pace as you start to turn, and say whoa as you begin to stop Your horse will appreciate the warning Also, as you lead the horse, look where you re going, not at the horse Doing so helps the horse have confidence in you and keeps him from getting confused about what he s supposed to do