Question: Could you give me a brief outline of the colt starting method Mr. Williams used? I am interested in possibly purchasing the DVD. . . .
Answer: I don’t know just how to go about telling you about the video of Bud starting a colt except to say that you don’t have to be a “Cowboy” to be able to do it. It does not require a round pen or any of the other things that are used today. People were always wanting to watch Bud start a colt, but they quickly became bored because the horse never bucked and within 20-30 minutes Bud was riding it out of the corral and up the mountain. About the only equipment you will need, other than your usual tack is a pair of strap-hobbles. In the video Bud says that you don’t really need them but it certainly makes things easier and it’s always been our contention that a hobble-broke horse is much safer to ride. I’ve been on a couple of pretty wild rides when an old, gentle horse tangled his feet in old wire, where a hobble-broke horse would have just stood and waited for you to get him out of it. This is also true if your horse tangles himself in the fence in his pasture. Please go to our website www.stockmanship.com and read the January 21, 2014 posting. I wrote quite a long response to go with a comment from a man in Australia. Also, read the February 1 posting.
Eunice
Comment: I think I have seen, seen used, or used myself about every method of starting a horse possible. But my curiosity has gotten the best of me over the last month so I had to order the DVD to see this way.
Question: I got the videos today. I was wrong about having seen it all. The videos were great. I have a question. To put hobbles on a wild horse I currently use a blindfold under a warbridle. Do you know of a better way?
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Answer: Bud never had any problem with a wild horse after he got a halter on it. We never had a chute to put a horse in and occasionally he had to choke it down to get the halter on, but then he just worked to halter break the horse before going on to hobbling it and riding it, which shouldn’t take very long. Maybe I should have gone into a little detail about halter breaking horses or cattle. Here is a short post from our website about this.
“First and foremost, DO NOT tie the animal to anything solid until you have it leading well. All this teaches him is that he can’t move, and it makes it very difficult to actually teach it to lead.
Put the animal in a small pen. Have a halter and lead rope on him. The lead rope should be long enough that by standing in the center of the pen, you can hold on to it with no pressure on the halter from any place the animal might go.
You will be in the middle of the pen. If the animal is spooky, just let him move around you until he settles down. Don’t hold any pressure on the rope at all. When he settles down a little, just pull (never jerk) his head towards you, then give him slack. By pulling from the side you can “un-track” (make him take a step towards you to keep his balance) an awfully large animal.
Never pull from directly in front, as you will only teach him that you aren’t strong enough to move him.
Never pull from behind as you will teach him that you aren’t strong enough to stop him.
Always give slack when he takes a step. Do not pull unless you are at the side and KNOW that you can make him take a step. Walk back and forth and all around, making him take a step towards you every time you are in the correct position to do so.
Even after the animal is well halter broke, always start leading him by pulling to the side to get him to take his first step.”
This is something the colt will need to learn anyway. I don’t remember it ever taking over a half-hour or so of working the colt like this before he could put the hobbles on.
Eunice
