First Time on Cross Ties

I have spent many, many training sessions working with Gracie on pressure, patience, and tying on posts. Spending time on the building blocks makes for a much more successful first time doing anything! Gracie has a very strong grasp on pressure at just under 11 months old. She will back up, walk forward, turn, and responds very well to any pressure applied. She also has been tied on posts several times, and has stood for pretty lengthy periods of time for some thorough grooming sessions.

I decided it was time to try the cross ties today.

With a calm mindset myself, I started with hooking her up on one side. I let her see the ties and how they would connect to her halter, and then proceeded to clip the second side. She’s used to being tied, but not so much having limited control of her head. She noticed pretty quickly that she had less room to move. Turning her head to one side as far as she could, she started trying to lip the cross ties. A stern “No” from me was all it took for her to stop.

She then walked forward as far as she possibly could. At that moment, I was worried she might try to break free. Luckily, she stopped and just stood there. I applied some soft but consistent pressure backwards on both sides of the cross ties, and she quietly backed up to her original position.

A storm had just passed and another was on its way in. Even with the wind blowing fiercely, she stood there, calm and quiet. I grabbed some brushes and started a short grooming session – she loves to be pampered! She stood without moving while I brushed her all over, sprayed her with Show Sheen, and combed her mane and tail.

Once the wind picked up even more I figured I had pushed my luck enough for one day. She let me unclip both sides with no problem and quietly walked with me back to her field.

I would absolutely call today a successful day of training. It’s always a relief to tackle a “first” without any issues. Of course, that doesn’t mean the second, the third, or the ninetieth time will be as good, but I think as a whole, this area of training for her should continue down a fairly uneventful path.

One thing that I constantly keep in mind when I am working with Gracie, or any horse for that matter, is that my mindset matters. It’s always best to go into a training session with a positive, calm, and confident attitude. As I stumble through this journey with Gracie, I find myself really trying my best to approach each interaction with the best mindset possible. Since I stayed calm today, even though I was a little nervous at times, she picked up on it and stayed calm with me. It helps, though, that she’s just an amazing little filly.

As always, I’m very proud of my Gracie!