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Watched a guy in Kentucky shoeing a mule, learned something new
I was down in Lexington last month visiting family and stopped by a barn where a farrier was working on a big mule. The mule was acting up and he just pulled out a rasp and tapped it on the hoof wall a few times, real soft like, and the animal settled right down. Never seen that done before. Any of you use a rasp tap to calm a nervous horse or mule?
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abbyg142mo ago
Call me skeptical but I think people give way too much credit to a little tap tap. I've seen farriers do all kinds of weird stuff and half the time the horse just calms down because the person stopped rushing and stood still for a second. That mule probably settled because the guy quit jerking around and gave it a second to breathe. Tapping a rasp is about as magical as jingling keys in front of a baby. Works until it doesn't and then you've got a mule that's learned to ignore the tap and you're back to square one with a louder problem.
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miles94629d ago
Oh man, I get the skepticism but I think you're kinda missing the point here! It's not about the tap being magic or anything like that. That rasp tap works because it's a specific, consistent sound the mule has learned to associate with calm handling, not because it's some mystical trick. I've seen farriers use it for years, and yeah, if you're rough and jerky the tap won't matter, but that's true of any training tool. The key is the trainer's timing and feel, not just the tool itself. So you're right that the mule settles when the person relaxes, but that rasp tap is part of how the farrier gets himself to relax and signal that to the animal in the first place.
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