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| Missy arrived with a head collar on even though she was still wild |
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| Fortunately it fell off before it really began to dig in |
I know it is rather tiresome but I cannot say often enough that ponies that have a head collar forced on them are at least ten times more difficult to get a head collar on again than one that has been trained to be touched first. I get told off for using strong words like violated but that is what it is. Ponies that have had their head violated by having a head collar forced on them are at least ten times more difficult to work with than one that hasn't. To a pony the head is the most important, sensitive part of their body and therefore they will always seek to protect it from predators. If you can't eat, you can't live. The feet are probably second in importance because if you can't run you'll get eaten.
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| Missy sporting her first rug. A coat but not a hat is perfectly acceptable. |
Missy is a really extraordinary example of this. She arrived at her new home with a head collar on even though she was still wild. Her new owner worked with her patiently but waited until she could get her into a stable before she began to work with her and touch her in earnest. Imagine her surprise when not only did she settle in the stable extremely well but even allowed her to put a rug on her and do it up. She's even had her mane plaited. All this and yet she won't accept a head collar at all. There's no doubt that her owner will eventually get there but here is a pony happy to let a human do up straps around her bottom and tummy providing she doesn't try to restrain her head.
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| Such a pretty head |
Halter training for me is touch first, head collar later whereas halter breaking often means that a pony has had a head collar forced on it. That level of manhandling can follow them all the way through their lives. The pressure to have ponies branded, microchipped, inspected, DNA tested or late gelded means that owners and ponies don't always have the luxury of time and yet there are simple, gentle techniques that help a pony to accept things so easily.
