Ever watch some of those old Westerns where the cowboy whistles for his horse and the animal comes running to him? Or do you enjoy watching or showing in the Liberty class and admire the horses who come when they're called instead of making their owner trek halfway across the arena to fetch them?
Well this training lesson is going to teach you how to train your own horse to come when he's called. Keep in mind that, even after your horse learns this lesson, he might not come to you when he's out in the middle of the pasture enjoying the green grass. But it should make him come to you whenever he's in an arena, round pen, or a stall.
First, arm yourself with the tools you'll need: a pocketful of his favorite treat, broken into small pieces; a long lunge line; and a safely fenced area in which to work, preferably not too big. A round pen is best if you have one.
Start by exercising your horse a little. If he doesn't know how to work on a lunge line, now is a good time to teach him. (Don't know how to teach this? Refer to my horse training hubpage, http://hubpages.com/hub/Natural-Training-Methods-for-Small-Equine for this and other great lessons.) The lesson you're looking for is "Getting your horse over his fear of plastic and teaching him to lunge." It's about one third of the way down the page.
Work him on the lunge line until he's breathing a little heavily or until he starts wanting to stop. Don't, however, let him stop whenever he wants to. If you notice him trying to stop, or if he DOES stop on his own, work him at least a minute longer. He needs to stop when you ask him to, not when he decides he's ready.
Just before you ask him to stop, reach inside your pocket and pull out a piece of his treat. Tell him "Whoa" and give a tug on the lunge line if you have to so that he stops. Pull just enough that he'll face you, then bend forward slightly at the waist and hold out the hand holding the treat toward him. Call him by his name and tell him "Come here," or whatever words you want to use.
Chances are that nothing will happen. So, still maintaining your slightly bent posture, give a gentle tug on the line to try to get him to start walking toward him. If he does, wonderful! Let him come as far as he will on his own. If he stops before he reaches you, gently tug the line again and repeat your verbal command to come to you. Do this as many times as you have to until your horse is finally within arm's reach.
Now, straighten up, smile at him (horses are great readers of body language), and verbally praise him as you feed him his treat. Pet him on the face while he's eating it, all the while telling him what a smart, clever horse he is. Let him stand there for a few minutes, then send him out to lunge some more.
You don't have to work him as hard this time. Let him go a few circles around you then tell him to whoa. Immediately, bend forward, hold out your hand (with a treat in it) and call him to you. Use the same words every time. As before, let him come by himself if he will, but draw him in with the lunge line if he won't. Once he's there, praise him, give him his treat, and pet him. You want to show him that coming when you call is the BEST thing in the world. Not only does he get a treat and praise, but he also gets to rest for a few minutes and get his air back.
Repeat, repeat, repeat. If you're having to physically pull him to you each time, then try to get him a little better this session before you stop for the day. In other words, try to keep working until it only takes a few tugs on the lead to draw him to you.
If he's already at that point and you and your horse aren't too tired to continue, then take him off the lunge line and see if he'll come to you on his own. As before, send him off to the fence and make him go a few circles around you, preferably at a trot. When you're ready, say "Whoa" and call him to you, holding out the treat and bending slightly toward him. If he takes even one step toward you then stops, praise him anyway. He's trying, and we always want to reward our horses for even the slightest attempt to do as we ask.
Call him again. If he takes another step or two, praise him again. Wave that treat at him and keep calling. If he eventually comes to you, give him that treat and perhaps a second one, all the while telling him how smart he is.
What if he absolutely won't come to you? Don't worry – this is normal. If he won't at least take a step toward you, then you need to put him back on the lunge line and work that way a few more minutes. You might even need to work him on the lunge line, drawing him to you when you call him, for several more training sessions. So what if it takes you a few days to make him understand? There's no time table in horse training. Let him take as long to learn this lesson as he needs.
If he takes a single step toward you, or even several, then stops and refuses to come any closer, don't despair. This, too, is normal. Keep your hand extended to he can see the treat and take a few steps toward him. Keep calling him. Stand still for a moment and see if he'll take a step or two toward you. Do this as many times as necessary until one of two things happens – he either steps up to you finally or you finally step up to him.
If he actually steps up to you, give him his treat and praise him. If you have to make that final step to reach him, don't give him the treat. Instead, wave it under his nose until he's interested and then take a step backwards, trying to draw him with you. Keep calling him. You need him to make the effort to come to you, even if it's only one step, before he gets that treat.
Praise him and pet him briefly, then send him back to the fence and make him work a little longer. Repeat the "Whoa" and call him to you again. As before, do whatever you have to do to get him to take that final step toward you, even if you have to meet him somewhere in the middle.
When you've accomplished that at least twice, you're going to change your tactic. Now, when you have to move forward and wave that treat under his nose, you're not going to take just one step backwards; you're going to keep backing up, a step at a time, and try to draw your horse clear to the center of the pen. Tempt him with that treat until you get him to follow you. Only when you're back where you were when you called him can he finally get his reward.
Work on this lesson through as many training sessions as necessary. Don't get discouraged. Some horses just aren't as motivated by food as others. If you find that he really isn't that crazy about your treat, find something else. Green grass, alfalfa, sweet feed, apples or carrots, are all things you can find. You can also move your training session to right before your horse's meal time, when he's really hungry. Do whatever works, and soon you'll have your horse coming to you whenever you call him.
NEXT TIME: Teaching a horse to lead the Natural way!
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