Mounted search and rescue

["philip easley" <easleyranch@foothill.net>]

When we hobble our horses and mules out to graze we do casually watch them.
If they think we are watching, they will behave.  When they think we are not
looking , they will disappear.  This problem seems to become less when you
go on a trip where you break camp and pack to another location periodically
without going back to the truck.  I have had some that were good and would
go out and graze.  They would go to water and go back to grazing.  Mules
like to have a safe place to rest and sleep.  Often times, they would come
back to their tie out spot and stand there and go to sleep when they are
finished eating.  I have a bad problem with snoring.  I had a horse and mule
that would stay in camp.  I turned them out to graze hobbled at night and
the next morning, I would wake with them standing over my tent.  I think the
snoring made them feel secure with the critters out there.   Overall, I feel
better if my stock is highlined when I am not supervising them.
Philip Easley
NCSSAR
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Una Smith" <una.smith@att.net>
To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Hobbles


> Philip Easley wrote:
> >        Once they learn to walk or hop with the hobbles, we have to watch
> >them when grazing because they will leave and try to go back to the
truck.
>
> I have seen more than one run in a hobble, sometimes heading away
> from camp and civilization.
>
> I'm fond of old books.  A few that I have discuss hobble training
> and advise you when first training to teach the horse (excuse me)
> not to move too fast.  The idea is to hold a rope tied to one of
> its front legs above the fetlock.  If/when the horse first tries
> to move out, yank on the rope to upset its balance.  These books
> also say to do this training in a soft pasture or arena with deep
> sand.
>
> On the other hand, some horsemen who hobble like their horses to
> move out well enough to hop into camp on their own for water and
> grain at breakfast time.
>
> (Does anyone here have first-hand experience with these aspects
> of hobble training?)
>
> BTW, all methods of restraint, including none at all, work better
> when the horse is tired and/or standing in good grass.  Duh, you
> say?  Well, think about it the next time you're out in the field:
> could you/would you dare simply let go of your horse right there
> and then?  Why not?  What do you think your horse would do?  Can
> you find a safe time and place somewhere, to actually test this?
>
> Una Smith
> New Mexico
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