I am in Arizona, and have a 5yo Saddlebred mare who will be used on trails here in the desert, once she is well from her bone-chip surgery. My vet said she had "what was left of a Saddlebred "big foot", and I think when they had her hooves grown out too long, she clocked herself, so surgery is next Wednesday.
She now trimmed correctly, is learning to walk calmly in the round pen, sometimes wanting to break into a trot, but learning nicely to calm down. My fear is, that once she's well, and I take her to the mountain trails, she'll get stuck by a cactus because she doesn't know to avoid it. Before she came to me, she had been a show horse, and really had no knowledge of the world. She's getting over cars and many other things, but I don't know how to teach her about cactus without losing her trust.
Help!
Ouch! I've seen the cacti you have down there. Saguaros/High Chaparral right? I spent some vacation time at the Tanque Verde ranch near the Mexican border many years ago, but I gather the landscape is still the same.
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I'm sorry I don't have any good advice for you, except that we have similar problems here with horses that hasn't learned to avoid tree-trunks, and might squeeze a rider's legs when passing too close to a big fir or risk getting a nasty prick by the stubs sticking out.
Do you have any poles on the yard where you can practice bending here around and stay away from touching? Maybe working from the ground first?
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I'm wondering if a horse can be taught to stay away from a cactus out of its own will, without actually having experienced being pricked by one? Seeing as they learn by doing mistakes, I mean.
(My horse only learned to stay away from ant hills by sticking his inquisitive nose into one. *LOL* )
Tricky one this, being in the UK the only cactus I come across is in a plantpot on a windowsill or in a garden centre and are about 6 inches tall!! I will be interested to hear from others who have got round this. How big are we taling about? Are they little ground covering ones (in which case protective boots would help) or are they full size ones like I see on the old Western movies?
I do not have any experience with cacti. But I do with all kinds of other "things". One of the things that always worked, goes hand in glove with what Kicki said. I would put the "item" in with my horses in an area, pen or wherever that they were very familiar and comfortable in and inevitably their inherent curiosity would kick in and they would "investigate" at their leisure and at their own pace...I NEVER coerced them in any way. As the saying goes, "Everyone has the God given right to suffer the consequences of their own actions"...and la voila, they soon learned whether or not the "item" should be avoided.
I hope it works for you, it certainly worked well for my horses.
Cheers,
Paul
doristutes - this is an interesting one and quite fascinating for all of us non cacti dwellers. Years ago I spent 3 years in California and we travelled down through Arizona to Mexico so I know the size and type of cacti you are talking about but never contemplated this problem of trying to introduce a horse to them. I guess it is best just to allow your horse to discover them on its own accord so that it doesn't associate the prick from the cacti plant with you. So I am with Paul here - just put your horse in a field with a few cacti and allow her to discover them herself - if you have any other horses that are already familiar with cacti then that would help too as they will teach her about them - better them than you! Good luck with it - it is a fascinating problem you have presented us with!
Thanks for your help. The nearest place to ride is South Mountain Park in Phoenix.
http://mdmpix.com/2008/2008-12-22_036/
(Nice picture, but more drab in person! LOL)
There are Saguaros,
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3f5ctbAZEPF3QEU6J_C2369BPOQffsHd3v2teIRswBBRJ6ki7
some Prickly Pears
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_OeF2GHn3GWBOHiy7PIJKEms4UnTPV6hO5nxcTxjC96b5bxF3eQ
etc. but mostly I fear the Cholla.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcShnHPd0WNX6P3SXH49cNIX9fTqm6edCRqC7EJx608fuqTgKfEcIQ
Cholla has spines that will stick to you with tiny barbels that move backwards, like a bee stinger with each section that will come off the main plant and stay with you. It'll be hard to come up with one in a pot, because people generally don't keep them in their yards. They're just a pain. Nice to look at, but a pain.
It may be worth a shot to try the "be your own dummy" method.
Thanks,
D
Hello dorislutes
I am from Kingman, AZ. So I know all about your issue. I have worked with a few ex-show horses with this same issue. and like MaggieF said the best way I have found to get horses to get over the cacti issues was to identify witch ones they have an issue with. For example if they have an issue with the prickly pair I would put then in a pen with them. IF you have access to a field with them that is best. OR get some pannles and put them in an area with the cacti.
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Here in Mohave County. We have prickly pair and many bushy type of cacti. So the best thing I have come up with is to put them in a pen with them.