I have had people ask me why I am so insistent that my dogs come when I call them. Well this fall, I had the opportunity to find out. A wolf was stalking my dog and the command "come" became very important. My dog responds so well to the command that she never questioned me, she came running, fast enough to keep the wolf from eating her.
How does this apply to horses? If we train our horses to respond some of the time, what will happen if we need them to respond to us without questioning our command? The command "whoa" is one of the most misused commands in the horse world. It should mean "STOP whatever you are doing until I tell you to do something different." We need to teach our horse these commands long before we need them to respond to them without question.
My horse Lucy got a 4' long puncture wound in her fetlock joint Thanksgiving day. She was bleeding so bad it took all I had to stop it. That part was easy. Treating it every day, twice a day was difficult, especially in sub zero weather. Because our vet feared her circulation was compromised along with
potential nerve damage, daily massage along with wound care was necessary to aid in her recovery. IF Lucy was not used to me playing with her legs and didn't trust me, I cannot imagine how I would have been able to properly care for her. It got so cold I had to move her to a heated barn and Jill was able to continue her care without incident.
This is why we train our animals - so they learn to respond to our commands, so they trust us and we are able provide for their care when they are injured. Take the time it takes to make sure you teach your horse the correct meaning of "whoa" without question and help your vet & farrier (and yourself) by teaching your horse to stand still so you can provide medical treatment, hoof trimming, de-worming and shots.
