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 Regular
Posts: 60
Location: Oklahoma | I recently bought a horse who is supposed to be my all around horse, which will replace my currently lame gelding who I used for queen contests, parades, playdays, local shows, EVERYTHING. And now that I have had her a while she is turning out to be a little more spooky thanI first thought. I knew she had a problem with people aproaching her from the front quickly, but it's a little more than I thought. This isnt really a huge deal, and I will be able to fix it, but I was just wondering what y'alls tips and tricks were for desensitizing horses were? This horse is gonna have to be able to be around children at rodeos, loud noises at parades and all sorts of things so I would love to try any ideas that you guys have. Always happy to learn new ideas! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1092
Location: OK | If it's you approaching her she's afraid of, I would get a long rope or longe line and hold it. Don't hold the rope tight, but only pull her head toward you if she turns to leave. Walk up to her fast over and over. Don't slow down the closer you get. When you get to her, just lay your hands on her and pet her a second. Then approach her from the other side and repeat. Don't be slow and slip up there, but just walk normal and kind of fast, and when she will stand her ground at a walk, try it at a jog. She will run backwards the first few times, but just keep her head looking at you and go with her. Don't let her turn and kick or get loose. She will eventually stop. I've had horses who had been hit in the face before or whatever who would set back on a rope if they were tied and you walked up to them wrong. I get them on a line loose in the arena, and we do this until I can jog up to them and lay my hands on their neck or shoulder and they just stand there to be petted. I do it a lot, even after they don't need it. I say whoa while I'm approaching, talk a lot. Once you ever get your hands on them the first time, even if they are running back, it gets easier from that point on. The other thing this will help is, if a horse is in trouble, like if they get hung up somehow, I can just get up there and help without me scaring them worse, because we've already covered that. When I run up and start talking, they stop and wait.
It's just desensitizing. If I need to do jumping jacks at the trailer, that's what I do... lol but I don't do that.
I'm just saying, I don't sneak around my horses. It's just too much work. |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
 
Location: Montana | I would do anything and everything on her. What I did with my horse is just work with like a lunge whip and throw it around her legs (where it touches her but doesn't hit her), and swing it anywhere near her. I'd mount and dismount from both sides. If you have a dog, just let it be around when you are working or riding, whatever. Walk and drag things around her just like if nothing was wrong. Spray her down with a hose and let the hose touch her and lay on her. Just a whole bunch of stuff. And if you can trail ride her near traffic, that is great too! My horse still spooks occasionally (as you would expect), but she is a lot better than she was. |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
 
Location: Alberta | Play a radio all the time when horses are in the barn, something we used to do with show cattle to get them used to sounds....
I use tarps, exercise balls, bags on a stick...
I also act like a crazy lady at times when I'm brushing or leading...just start to dance around or lift my arm randomly when leading....I mean with caution I don't get kicked, but it helps to get them used to things....
Edited by dream_chaser 2014-02-16 10:45 PM
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| sack her out
tie plastic sack milk jugs in her mane halter saddle stirrups turn her loose in round corral
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  The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | Do what had already has been mentioned and HOPE it works. It might just be her. We have a gelding that is a bit spooky. He isn't terrible but none the less, it it's just Him. Have had him since birth, he it's now 13yo and NOTHING has "cured him" of it. |
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | We always had milk jugs and plastic bags tied to where ours spent a lot of time, and near feeding areas. Also hanging tarps. And sacking out with bags on sticks. If you're going to do something, do it with intention. Don't creep around her. If my mare spooks at something, we go by it numerous times until she is willing to put her nose on it. |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | vjls - 2014-02-17 8:18 AM
sack her out
tie plastic sack milk jugs in her mane halter saddle stirrups turn her loose in round corral
I would only suggest this if you want to give your horse a heart attack and/or seriously injure it. I would never suggest physically attaching anything to a horse as a means to desensitize it. What if it breaks out of the corral and goes tearing down the road? Good luck ever catching it!
The desensitizing process involves introducing something scary and then taking it away when the horse relaxes, then repeat, repeat, repeat. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | I de-spooked a gelding of mine (accidentally) with a plastic bag tied to the end of a training whip. He's very disrespectful and will not let me have his feet in the round pen so I tied the bag to the end of a training whip to make him move. It worked for just a few laps around the pen until he figured out it wasn't going to "get him". He stopped moving and didn't care what on earth that bag did because he knew it wasn't going to hurt.
Exclude the part about needing your horse to move her feet and I think you could probably get her used to trashy objects at events. Just just need to be cool, calm, and collected in everything you do so your mare doesn't feed off your fear. |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| Gunner11 - 2014-02-17 9:39 AM vjls - 2014-02-17 8:18 AM sack her out
tie plastic sack milk jugs in her mane halter saddle stirrups turn her loose in round corral
I would only suggest this if you want to give your horse a heart attack and/or seriously injure it. I would never suggest physically attaching anything to a horse as a means to desensitize it. What if it breaks out of the corral and goes tearing down the road? Good luck ever catching it! The desensitizing process involves introducing something scary and then taking it away when the horse relaxes, then repeat, repeat, repeat.
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 Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | Clinton Anderson has a good video on tying where he RUNS up to the horse and pets them all over and he does it over and over again. They're NOT hard tied- the rope will slip through the rings if they pull. It helps with tying, but it also helps with getting them used to things running at them, which sounds like her biggest problem. You can always hire some kids to come play at your place and have them play in the barn outside the round pen. That way she would get used to running and loud noises. Getting them on cows in small doses is good too. Follow some cows to build their confidence and then once they're tracking well, put them in a pen with some and move them around. Sorting seems to help them get used to things coming at them too. If you can, riding around dogs a whole lot. More unexpected movement. Anything they are scared of if you can set it up where they are following it will make the biggest difference in the world. |
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Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | Also, make sure when you're on her that your body is relaxed. If you're going to walk past something that you know she's scared of, don't tense up and gather up the reins in anticipation of a reaction. Stay relaxed, but be ready in case she does spook. If your body is tense, she'll feel it and think she's supposed to be scared. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | You have gotton alot of good advice on here, but remember not all horses are cut out for all that you want. Just make sure she is not on hot feed and maybe have her eyes checked out since you were saying that she got a little more spooky. |
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 IMA No Hair Style Gal
Posts: 2594
| I had a super spooky mare several years ago. I started with plastic bags around her water bucket in her stall after previously introducing a bag to her in the round pen. Spent an hour before I was finally able to rub her with one. Once on the buckets, every time I would go in there I would crinkle those bags. Did that for a few weeks. Worked my way up to a surcingle and I did tie the plastic bags to that and left her in her stall for an hour with hay. Again, every time I went in I would crinkle those bags. Seemed to work for her.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| If you chose to hang plastic bags, make sure she cant get to it. I had a gelding that ate every single one off the fence. Apparently he wasnt scared of the plastic bags anymore. |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | get her eyes checked...................
m |
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 Did I miss the party?
Posts: 3864
| Of course desensitizing them (which I need to do more of with my young one right now). But also, believe it or not, ulcers can cause excessive spookiness as well. Good luck! |
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 Regular
Posts: 95
| Clinton Anderson shows a ton of different desensitizing exersices on his videos. I've used his methods on my colts and have found it works really well. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 371
| Time! I've had my mare for two years, she used to freak if anyone would walk up to her while I was sitting on her. Now she's just hesitant. She gets nervous if people are in her stall, it's just how she is. We ignore it, she wants to freak out ehhh whatever. Punishing her makes it worse and obviously praising doesn't work. When she spooks while riding, just ride her through it...don't push her or halt her.
We had to do a lot of work with a blanket at first, now she loves it.
People seem to be obsessed with 'de-spooking' horses. Honestly, with my gelding it didn't help either. Weird about the banner on the long side? Just ride like normal then inside leg to move him over by the banner. When you don't make a big deal over it, he will learn to chill too.
Just ride her!!! I ride with music on in the arena. This time of year they all tend to get really hot, my mare isn't spooky in the arena till winter time then she's a basket case....I just ride her more and more.
Edited by HammerTurns 2014-02-19 7:05 PM
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