This isn’t a how-to blog post. I’m not an expert in training a horse to hobble. Think of it as one more part of Jazz’s story and mine. And if you’ve been wondering about what it’s like to train a horse to accept hobbles, you might find this informative. It’s certainly turning out to be entertaining.
Jump to:
Background
Step 1: Ropes
Things the horse should be okay with
Step 2: Introduce the hobbles
Things to look out for
Step 3: Allow the horse to explore the limits of hobbles and make mistakes
The Protest Rearing
Step 4: Use the hobbles in new environments
Background
I’ve been wanting to hobble train a horse for a long time. A horse that has been trained to hobble is safer and more flexible. It is less likely to panic if it gets caught in wire or rope. It can be allowed to graze without enclosures. (Though I would never rely on hobbles alone to keep a horse from wandering. They can go a long way fairly quickly with their front legs working in unison as you can see in this video of Jazz.)
I bought some basic heavy harness leather hobbles from Riding Warehouse (click here to see them). I had planned to get Jazz used to them before our trip to northern California (briefly described in my last blog post). But I got busy, and didn’t do more than work with ropes. Luckily, our stay with my brother was ideal for hobble training, because I could see Jazz’s pen from the window of the house. By the end of the trip, I could safely put him in hobbles and rely on him not to try to chew them off or panic.
Step 1: Make sure the horse is good with ropes and pressure
I am sure there are many videos demonstrating hobble-training specifically. I’ve seen it at a few excellent clinics, most recently the last Light Hands Horsemanship Clinic in Santa Inez in 2015 or thereabouts. But all horses should be used to ropes independently of hobble-training, as part of the desensitization process. They should be comfortable with ropes being pulled around all four legs at all heights. They should give to pressure, lifting the foot up or out or back when asked.
Jazz had been excellently desensitized before I got him–although my boyfriend and I did have to remind him of some things! He is the type of horse that needs refresher courses on everything though, so I did two rope sessions of about 20 minutes each. Once I was sure he remembered to give to pressure, I looped the rope around both front legs. I made sure he was comfortable with his legs being “trapped” around the pasterns and around the cannon bones.
Things the horse should be okay with:
- Feeling the rope put pressure on legs in any place and from any direction. The hobbles will go around the pasterns or cannon bones, but you don’t want any area to cause a panic reaction.
- Giving to the pressure. For example, if you pull forward on the rope, the foot it’s attached to needs to come along.
- Having a foot held up by the rope. This is easiest if you have a Western saddle on because you can loop the rope around the horn.
- Dragging a rope around by a foot without thinking it’s a snake.
What kind of rope?
I’ve seen people use lariats, and that looks super easy. I don’t have one though. I have a 3/4″ soft cotton rope with no hardware I use for desensitization and teaching to tie with a belly rope. (This one looks about right: Twisted cotton rope.) Once I know the horse is safe, I will use any rope I have on hand for refreshers.
Step 2: Introduce the hobbles
Ideally, the horse will just accept the hobbles. But horses don’t always behave as you expect, even when you think you’ve done everything right. So soft ground and an enclosed space is best! I also kept the lead on Jazz’s halter until I knew he wasn’t going to freak out.
I first put the hobbles on in the pen Jazz had at my brother’s because it had a lot of soft sand. It was also enclosed so he couldn’t go anywhere, but big enough to give us space. A good round pen would be perfect.
Jazz just stood there. After a while I walked away to see if he would try to move. He did. When he realized his front feet were tied together he tried to chew off the hobbles.
Fortunately horses do not have sharp incisors or those hobbles would be toast.
Above: The first time I put the hobbles on, I left them loosely attached at the cannon bone level and backwards so I could easily unbuckle them. After some observation, I decided to put them on his pasterns, and facing the other way. I am unsure how these are intended to go, but if on the cannon bone, I would definitely only leave them the other way (so the loops go in back). Less pressure on tendons. On the pasterns it probably doesn’t really matter.
Things I was looking out for that fortunately Jazz didn’t do
I hadn’t expected him to try to chew off the hobbles but I was worried about:
- Rearing over backwards. Jazz rears when he gets angry. Of course, he did eventually rear with the hobbles, but he wasn’t panicked so it was fine.
- Falling down. I could see this happening, so I wanted a soft surface.
- Lying down. Yep, I’ve had horses lie down and refuse to move when they don’t like something.
- Careening all over the place and banging into things, acquiring annoying superficial wounds. This is definitely a possibility where horses are concerned. That’s why I kept the lead on him.
Step 3: Allow the horse to explore the limits of hobbles and make mistakes
As soon as I knew Jazz wouldn’t panic, I left him alone with his hobbles. Horses (and humans) cannot learn if they are not allowed to make mistakes. Training a horse to hobble means letting the horse figure the hobbles out. At first I just took off the lead and stepped away. Then I stood outside the pen.
At first Jazz just stood there. I wanted to see him test the hobbles before I got too far away. He needed to realize his movement was limited without me holding on to the lead. That way I could see what he would do.
Above: The first time I ;eft Jazz alone in his pen with the hobbles on. At first, he just stood there.
Eventually, Jazz resorted to rearing.
Now, when it comes to hobbles, this is a natural thing for a horse to do. To move the front feet together, the horse has to rock its weight back and lift the front end. In Jazz’s case, though, rearing always happens when he is frustrated. Jazz rears when he decides he doesn’t want to be tied. He rears when he wants to follow other horses and I won’t let him. He rears when he’s hungry and I am slow with the feed, or when his water bucket is low. So of course he did a lot of rearing with hobbles!
The only thing I worried about at this stage was Jazz perfecting his ability to move in hobbles. I also wondered if he was going to get sore muscles from all the rearing. This wouldn’t be entirely bad. Rearing muscles are likely to add to overall fitness. In any case, he was not fearful or anxious, just a bit angry.
I gradually increased the time I left him alone with the hobbles from a few minutes to an hour. He stopped rearing in protest eventually!
Step 4: Use the hobbles in new environments
One of the best ways to practice hobbling is in an arena. Work the horse, and then hop off and slip the hobbles on. Let the horse rest hobbled. That way hobbles = rest = good thing in horse’s mind! I used to do this with ground-tying when I’d switch horses. (Read about how I teach a horse to ground-tie.)
I did not have an arena in Siskiyou County, so instead I carried the hobbles and put them on when I got off for Jazz’s snack. Again, I wanted him to think hobbles = rest = good thing!
Above: Jazz eating his feed from a bag. Snack breaks are perfect for hobble training!
Later, I used the hobbles for longer periods in a pasture where Jazz could graze. I stayed with my cousin in Trinity County over Fourth of July on a large 100+ acre parcel. It is not fenced (it was, but elk walk through fences), so Jazz had to be tied to the trailer most of the time. I put the hobbles on to let him move around and graze.
The first thing Jazz did was head down the driveway towards the gate… Going home? Protesting? Who knows! he gave up soon and grazed. As you can see in the video below, I wouldn’t rely on hobbles to keep him nearby. Next step is adding a stake and tether!