The Colt Cam: Desensitizing with a Rope
- March 23, 2015
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- Jenn Zeller
Posted in: Featured, Horse Training
In this episode of our Colt Cam — I show how to approach a horse with the coils of your rope. This colt isn’t quite as snorty now as he was when I took this video — proof that this works and it’s getting better (maybe I’ll take a video to update our progress) but hopefully you can see how this would be helpful.
Using your rope does a few things, mainly being you’re able to rub the horse with something other than your hand. Often our hand has too much energy in it, and sometimes, if you can’t touch your horse in a certain place with your hand, you can touch him with a flag or with your rope (as an aside the back of your hand works well in touching colts for the first time as there’s less energy in it). The rope also makes sound, which horses can learn to live with. Further, the rope allows you to reach across his back and have him see something out of both eyes which is really important if you want to saddle your colt and ride them later. It also, of course, helps get them use to stuff touching them all over — which at some point you’re bound to do. You’re gonna saddle them, you’re probably gonna want to ride them, and if you’re me, you plan to flag colts from their back, and rope and drag calves to the branding fire. The more you can expose your colt to the better. In this particular instance I used my rope everyday for about 6 weeks with this colt because he was so uncertain. And now to show you our progress I will make good on that promise to take video of his improvement!
Happy Trails!
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Posted in: Featured, Horse Training
About Jenn Zeller
Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western. After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her...