Start Right!! - Defusing the anti-predator responses associated with mounting a horse.

Start Right!! - Defusing the anti-predator responses associated with mounting a horse.

My youngest son, Joel, is demonstrating how we get a horse ready to be mounted safely the very first time OR how we assess if a horse has been properly prepared to be safely mounted by either an owner or a previous trainer. Decades back the Lord guided me to notice that common issues with mounting a horse the very first time revolved primarily around the horse misidentifying what the human (an omnivorous apex predator) was doing as a predatory threat to its life which very naturally would then trigger in the horse an instinctual anti-predator response to get that predator off their back. This is the first time we have filmed the process I have been using for decades. This video is raw, uncut, unedited - you see the entire process start to finish with me narrating and occasionally you can hear something which Joel is saying (generally to the horse) as he works to see which triggers were and were not defused on 9yr old Hank the Missouri Fox Trotter who has not been worked with in years. Hank has been ridden years back but allegedly was not trained much nor well. So we need to see what he knows and fill in any holes in his training from years back. Joel follows the exact process we use on a horse which has never had a rider on its back - but is able to move in a bit quicker as he discovers what has already been defused (either intentionally or simply incidentally). Joel spends about a half hour to get Hank to the point where he is able to from both sides do a Indian style Swing Up bareback mount with Hank simply standing still fully accepting it. On a "never mounted before" horse the process is typically completed in 45 minutes +/- 15 minutes - depending on the horse. This process is described in writing here. https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.htmlhttps://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html

Training horses always involves some risk of injury (or even death) to the horse, the trainer, any spectators, equipment used, etc. - this risk is totally your own as you will be making your own judgements on what to do. As with any suggestions on any subject you must weigh them out for yourself and proceed accordingly - at your own risk.

Remember to read, study, and ponder upon God's word each day and also pray each day to find out what God needs you to do today and then do it. And have a blessed day!!

Jack Griffes
Certified Farrier - Colt Starting Trainer https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html
Be part of the solution - Learn Founding Principles https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html