teaching a horse to lay down

[jeezitsjacki]

So for a while now my friend and I have been thinking about teaching our horses to lay down. I have heard of people doing it before.. and I know not everyone approves of it but I was just wondering if anyone has done it, and how you went about it.

thanks for the help

[WashingtonBay]

This is where we need endospink and his TAP method!

I haven't done it and it seems daunting to me. Curious to see the replies you get!

[mtnmollie]

Here is how Susie taught BJ to lay down.

Pick up left front foot.
Ask BJ to drop your head.

Rock back and wait-

He goes down- carrot reward.


I layed my baby down to doctor by
lift left front, bend head to right -
down they go.

I know the down by force method with ropes too.

[mtnmollie]

Another way to get down is to teach the horse to drop his head to the dirt and walk a small circle. They will go down with you on them, watch your feet. :cowboy:

[mtnmollie]

...teaching a horse to lay down

How to put a horse down by force.

Star needed to be doctored maybe she was two?
I layed her down for control.
My neighbor called me crewl and abusive.
I let her stand to doctor her- she fell over backwards and ripped her shoulder open-
the second owie was worse than the first.

Putting her down by force was safer than not putting her down.
I raised her from a baby. Half arab- half appy and totally loved by me.

I learned this from old Western Horseman mag stuff.
Put saddle on maybe. Put rope on left front, lift foot by saddle horn,
hold or tie rope.
Bend head right- horsie go boom.

Unless you have a clever mustang or Morgan horse -
then you have to put a scotch hobble on right back leg.
Horse falls left away from bent head.

[mtnmollie]

Endo bends the head- the horse goes backwards and down.
I am not that good with my feet though- LOL> :cowboy:

[mtnmollie]

The last horse I put down by force was my Morgan Boone.

Laying a horse down is an old horse training trick-
used to help outlaws submit in their mind.

I have old books about these guys tameing the town outlaw
by down.

Horseman's Scrapbook says there is lots of ways of putting a horse down.

Horse lay down- get up- be good.

[mtnmollie]

So I go out to feed my bunch of 9 ponies- which one have
I trained with force, says I?

Not one, I must have left that method behnd me in my notebook somewhere-

None of them lie down either-he he . :cowboy:

[FredRock]

I don't know how she did it, but Fred's first owner taught him to lay down when he was a little foal. I guess he was really good at it (he's a pretty smart horse) and when they went to break him they accidentally asked him to lay down (the cue was touching a certain place on his leg) and he layed down when they tried to saddle him! He had the trainer all riled up!

So when you do teach a horse to lay down, make sure you do a series of things that can't get confused with just a touch, otherwise some interesting things could happen.

[IrisGreen]

In John Lyons book "communicating with cues"...

He has the same method of teaching a horse to down. But, he does it in steps and asks the horse for a little more each time so the horse gets comfortable with it.

Steps:

With Halter, lead rope, saddle and a thick cotton rope.

Stand on the left of the horse, put lead rope coming from the right and over the neck so you can pull the horses head slightly right away from you.

Loop thick cotton rope around front left foot, DO NOT TIE it on the foot. Use saddle horn as a leverag DO NOT TIE to saddle horn.

Pull leg up and let horse stand with left leg up. Release. Get the horse use to this first.

Pull leg up, hold and pull lead rope so head turns slightly right and ask horse to start to lean back. Just a little at a time. Release. Repeat.

Once horse is leaning back and it's knee is on the ground keep asking with head tilted to right side. Horse will lay down on it's left side with it's feet pointed away from you. You want the head turned right so the body will fall towards you and the feet away from you.

Let horse get up if it wants too at first. Don't try to keep it down when teaching. It did what you want so let it get back up if it feels like it.

Repeat untill horse is more calm with being layed down but not more then 3 times in one session. It's hard on a horse to lay down and get back up again over and over. Take it slow.

Start to teach a command to lay down like tapping on it's foreleg. Once the horse is laying down you won't need the thick cotton rope or saddle. You should just be able to lift it's leg and tip it's head to the right but move out of the way when he goes to lay down so your not right next to it. Teach a command so you don't have to pick up it's leg each time but make sure to only do it 3 times in one session.

I hope this helps. This was the main stuff in the book. I just kinda summed it up.

[jeezitsjacki]

thanks everybody! I think I will have to do some research!

[Ponykins]

I've trained trick horses for 40+ years. It depends on "why" you are wanting your horse to lay down. Is it for correction, punishment, it looks cool, or to make it easier for you to get on? Makes a big difference as to how it's done or trained. All of my horses lay down on cue - in hand, under saddle, and at liberty with hand or whip cues. There are some simple rules that you should know first to make it easier and more fun for your horse. All trick training is just an extension of teaching your horse to give to pressure. Laying down is one of the heights of submission. (Submission in horses is not like a dog laying on it's back in submission to a more dominate animal or person. Submission in a horse is lightest to your aids.)