Bits, Hooves, and the Mulehood

Jerri and I put some molasses in a bottle and found a headstall to go on the full-cheek snaffle, then we started sequestering our trainees for bitting lessons. Chaco was first. It turns out that he hates molasses. He will not eat a horse cookie with molasses on it, so a bit with molasses was totally unattractive to him. We left him and went to the pen with Sparky. Sparky is in a totally mouthy stage, typical of a 2 year old stallion. He loves molasses and in a few minutes he had the bit in his mouth sucking it clean. After he had the idea that the bit was a good thing, I started shaping him to put his head in the headstall and take the bit in his mouth. I merely held the headstall open in front of him. He figured it out right away. Ten minutes into his training and I felt we had a confirmed positive regard for the bit. Hold a headstall out for him and he will come running.

We went back to Chaco. We offered honey as a molasses alternative, but just on a horse cookie this time. Chaco will not eat sweets at all, so Cracker got the honey coated cookie. I started using the plain cookies to shape him to put his nose in the headstall and take the bit. It took longer because we had to overcome his suspicions that there was still molasses on the bit, but in about 15 minutes he was putting his lips on the bit. That was enough for Day One.

The last one to get bitted was Cisco. He likes molasses and his training went so fast and smoothly that I suspect I must have taught him that last year. He would have also been bitted by one or both of his previous trainers. I was a bit apprehensive that he would have negative perceptions of the bit, but it turned out not to be the case.

Next time, they will get to wear their bits in the stall during the hot part of the day when they would like to just sleep in the shade.

I finished trimming the hooves this morning before it got really hot. Two things of note: 1) Cisco, almost out of the blue, whacked the side of my knee with the side of his hoof. It was a kick but we don't know why, so I sent him around the "round pen" five times each way then invited him back into the grooming area. No more problems. I'm bruised but no big deal. 2) Chester gets his "mulehood" aroused when he is being handled or trained. It interferes with his thinking, but any time there is positive reinforcement going on, the mulehood drops. I was down at his hooves with my grinder somewhat concerned about the tiny flecks of hoof grindings ricocheting off the mulehood, which was in a totally expanded condition. It might sting, I don't know, and mules kick sidewards, so I was concerned. Finally it seemed like Chester's mulehood was irritated without regard to the hoof flecks, so I reached over and moved it to where I could see the end of it. I could see the "bean", so I pushed around it with my gloved hand and the "bean" popped out. Male equids get waxy buildups in a little pouch at the tip of their "mulehood". These things look like fava beans (aka horse beans), which are like super-sized lima beans. I dropped the bean into the dirt, but then Jerri asked to see it so I picked it back up. She wouldn't take it in her bare hand, so I put it on the fence rail where she examined it. Its gray and waxy. Then she knocked it into the dirt and stepped on the edge of it to check its consistency. It squished on her shoe like a wad of gum. She tried to wipe it off on a stick, but managed to step on the rest of it full on. The squished wad stuck tight. There Jerri was totally grossed out with a mule bean stuck to her shoe. It was very very funny.

Tomorrow everyone is going off on other adventures. Jerri, Laura, and Shawn are going to the Little Beaver PowWow and I am going to work at the cafe. Further horse adventures will have to wait until Sunday.