Spring is the time we halter train our crias. We use Marty McGee Bennett's instructions to accustom Kimi and Sooleana to accepting our touch with the least amount of stress.
John and I were working in the pen over the weekend when we had the opportunity to enclose Kimi. She had already allowed us to stroke her head, neck and top of the nose while she was eating chaff in the barn, but when I encircled her neck with the soft rope, she panicked. She raised her front feet and pulled back wild-eyed.
Keeping contact with the rope, I stepped back as far as I could to give her time to calm down. Within minutes, I was able to approach her and rub her head and neck with small circular strokes-raccoon strokes according to Marty. As her ears came forward and she relaxed, I held her jaw and tapped her smooth upper dental pad between her front lips. Just as Marty predicted, she found it very pleasant.
I then backed up to see how she would react to her attachment. She walked over to John and put her nose in his chest as if asking for help. She did not seem upset, just anxious to join her mother and the herd.
Quite pleased with her reaction to this new experience, we ended Kimi's first lesson with being haltered.
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