Prepare Your Horse for a Safe Landing

The decision to sell a horse can be a difficult one part of which is making sure that your horse reaches a safe landing spot. But there are steps you can take to make sure that happens so you can rest easy knowing your horse is in responsible care.
Teach Essential Skills
Possessing a basic set of skills can create a greater likelihood that your horse will enjoy a wonderful new home even if his next stop isnt his permanent one.
The Basic Behaviors Profile created by The Right Horse Initiative was developed with the idea that the key to a successful placement for a horse in transition is matching the right horse to the right person. Because it assesses such skills as catching haltering leading and tying it can be used by any horse owner or potential horse owner as one of several tools in evaluating a prospective new horse.

The Basic Behaviors Profile gives great confidence to the potential adopter or buyer of the animal that the seller really knows and understands that horse says Emily Weiss Ph D. vice president of ASPCA Equine Welfare. The ASPCA is the parent organization of The Right Horse Initiative.
While not allinclusive the BBP covers the following skills
Can the horse be approached when loose in turnout?
Is he calm when haltered?
Does he lead turn stop and back?
Can he be led through a gate?
Can he stand calmly tied?
Does he move his hindquarters away from pressure of the hand?
Does he stand calmly while his body is brushed or while his legs are sprayed with water?
Does he allow all feet to be picked up and stand calmly while each foot is held?
Does he stand calmly for blanketfly sheet oral administration of fluid from a syringe or tube rectal temperature fly spray?
Does

he calmly load and trailer?
When in place these behaviors help to reduce risk during interactions between horses and humans while on the ground. While the lack of a skill should not automatically disqualify a horse from consideration it can indicate an area in which a horse needs more work. The profile is key because within its framework it provides a clear definition of calm exhibition of behaviors. To ensure a reasonable opportunity for success it also specifies ideal locations for where the assessment should be performed.
Jen Roytz is executive director of the Retired Racehorse Project an industry partner of The