Teaching Your Weanlings Patience

Featured here are the three boys learning the all important lesson of patience.In the photo from front to back are I Sayo Ur Bueno, Cromed Up Groucho, Cowboys Fisty Pep.
Oh the importance of teaching your weanlings patience!!! So now that the babies have sent some quality time attached to the donkey and have gotten the idea of giving to pressure on to step two…..quality time at the fence. I might not have a ton of time to work with my babies every day but catching each of them every morning is not a hard task (especially since they still have a lead rope dragging from their halter). Then off to the fence we go to spend some quality time learning patience, patience any more patience. So here are some things you will want to make sure of when getting ready to teach your youngster the all important lesson of patience.

  • A good, sturdy halter and lead. I personally really like the rope halters as there is no metal that can break and possibly cut your colt. I did purchase 8 of the Clinton Anderson DownUnder Horsemanship halters as I have yet to see a horse big enough to bust one of them……and trust me, I have had a couple that have tried.
  • Every bit as important as the strong halter and lead is the equally strong fence post you are trying your colt to. A panel wired to a t-post might NOT be the most suitable as there is nothing as exciting as your colt running to you at a dead run with a panel attached to his lead rope wiping in the wind and your colt forgetting to stop when it reaches you. I personally like to make sure I tie my colts, or any of the horses for that matter, to a nice solid wooden post making sure I tie high enough that when the wee little one experience some impatience and is trying to dig to China he can not get his foot above the lead rope.
  • So now that we have a solid halter, lead rope and post, also rather important is the knot you tie. In case your colt does pull back nothing is as fun as requiring a screw driver to loosen the knot or a knife to cut your newly purchased lead rope or halter……we all know them buggers aren’t cheap. I have become a rather big fan of the bowline knot as I have yet to see one pull that knot tight enough that you can not get it untied

    • So now that you are set with all the needed equipment let the patience game begin (jeopardy theme playing at this point). I do not have a problem with letting them stand tied for three to four hours at a time. Some times longer if they are having a really hard time with the whole patience thing and sometimes shorter if they totally have the idea down.

    Al Dunning has taken the set up of tying to perfection as he has some heavy duty pipe set in about 3 feet of concrete. Each poll is about six feet tall with a top that rotates and a heavy duty chain coming off of that which has a snap attached to it. On the ground the concrete runs in a circle around the poll with about a 2 1/2 foot radius…..this makes it impossible for your impatient critter to dig to China. I will get exact measurements and photos when I am down there in december. Every single horse in his barn has spent hours at a time tied to one of those polls which goes to show that it really does not matter whether the horse in your life is a family companion or a rather BIG time show horse. They all need patience.