Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466 
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Post by Terry on Jun 7, 2014 3:44:29 GMT
I thought it might be fun to share some of the different things we use and ways we each go about desensitizing and training our horses to become good, solid equine citizens. Here are some examples of things I've done with my horses.
Tarps 
Plastic Bags 
Mega Jolly Ball 
Cones 
Ground Poles 
Cowboy Curtain 
Flashing Light 
What sorts of things do you use to desensitize/train your horses?
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Post by shadowlark on Jun 7, 2014 7:57:43 GMT
LOL LOVE the Wal-mart bag hat pics!
I've honestly never done any of these things as all my horses have come to me well trained and I've never thought about it. Some good ideas for a refresher though. I'll have to take a tarp and some bags out to the barn and see how Lucy reacts. I've done some groundwork with her, courtesy of Clinton Anderson videos, and she just stood there bored - wonder what her reaction would be to a tarp?
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Jun 7, 2014 10:56:50 GMT
Zippy is /was a spooky, spooky boy so I've done lots of things to desensitize,.., but when I dragged a tarp out and over him, he just stood there 
I think he thought it was a blanket, which he loves,.., so when I expected a REACTION, I got none?? I've used ground driving as a way to desensitize Zip to things behind him. I've also thrown things in the air, next to him, and let them land around him to help him overcome some of his many fears. And, anything that he has a *reaction* too, I incorporate into his routine until it becomes routine to him. We're progressing, and he has mellowed considerably since I first brought him home. |
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Jun 7, 2014 12:02:54 GMT
Awsome pictures, I can tell you really love your horses  |
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Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466
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Post by Terry on Jun 7, 2014 15:09:53 GMT
Lipizzan, I absolutely love my horses.  Thank you!
The time I've spent with them desensitizing them to different objects has been so much fun for me! Some things they had no reaction to at all, and others they did. Obviously if they had a reaction, then, like Redzip said, I continued working with them with that object until it became routine for them. When our trainer was here getting Zena re-broke to ride last year she was amazed when she started desensitizing work with her. She said it was quite obvious that I had spent a lot of time doing that sort of thing with her, because she just took it all in stride.
Shadowlark, you mentioned Clinton Anderson videos. I love the Clinton Anderson videos! Something I've done with Sis from those videos (that I have yet to try with Zena), is throwing the rope up and over her back, and then dragging it back across... she stands there like a champ!
Another thing from the Clinton Anderson videos that I have done with Sis, but still need to do with Zena, is taking the stick and string and doing the helicopter/windmill (I don't remember exactly what he calls it) with it (swinging it in a circle so the string keeps slapping on the ground beside them). I can slap the ground hard with the string right next to Sis's legs and she stands perfectly still. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of me doing that one with her. |
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nhg
Junior Member
Posts: 2,429
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Post by nhg on Jun 7, 2014 18:03:38 GMT
Good ideas! I love the plastic bag hats!
The plastic bags made me think of something that I've seen so many people do and they never seem to realize how silly it is. They'll use a plastic bag on a stick or whip to teach their horse to longe then expect the horse to be okay with plastic bags and spend time teaching them they're okay.
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Post by shadowlark on Jun 8, 2014 8:35:14 GMT
Yes! Those are the Clint Anderson exercises I've done with Lucy! With the throwing the rope over her back, she just stands there. Throw the rope around her legs, the first time she just had this look like "Uhh, mum, what are you doing?" but didn't do anything. I've also done the "helicopter" with a thick lead rope that made quite the smacking sound. Again, no reaction. She looked so bored, like she was thinking "Yeah yeah, they taught me this a decade ago, can we move on?" LOL
I'll definitely have to take a tarp and some plastic bags out soon. And an umbrella! Wonder if she's ever seen an umbrella? That could get interesting...
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Jun 8, 2014 12:33:59 GMT
Umbrella is a GREAT desensitizing tool, great idea! apple
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Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466
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Post by Terry on Jun 8, 2014 14:45:37 GMT
Oh, an umbrella! What a great idea!! I'll have to remember to try that one!
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Jun 9, 2014 12:21:34 GMT
I don't do a lot of desensitizing (luckily Mister was very well trained when I got him). Sometimes going down the trail though, if I see a dead branch hanging over the trail, I will pull it down and let it crash behind us. This helps us prepare of animals coming up behind us on the trails and of course dead limbs/trees that happen to fall just as you go by them.
A lot of times on the CTRs I go on, one of the obstacles is an "object" obstacle - pick up a hat/trash with a stick, stand near some caged (and loud) turkeys or mini, an air horn, an umbrella and a rustling feed sack (they all liked that one since the sack still smelled like feed!).
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hugs
Junior Member
Posts: 2,647
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Post by hugs on Jun 23, 2014 22:24:42 GMT
I don't have pictures but here's a list of things I've used:
Ropes, blankets and other "throwables" around the legs, backs, rubbing over their heads, etc.
Foam pool tubes; jump around with 'em wailing like a banshee, asking them to walk through them as I wiggle 'em
Umbrellas
Balloons, large and small inflatable balls
banners flapping in the wind
bucket with tin cans in it
Do all this from the ground, on a stool, etc.
The other thing is not simply to expose them to stuff but to help them know what to do when they're scared. I want them to stand still, so I'll increase the intensity to just up until they're going to move and then stop. Rinse, repeat, until they don't want to move at all.
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Post by shadowlark on Jul 19, 2014 1:55:11 GMT
I tried some things with Lucy today - walk over a tarp, rub a plastic bag on a stick all over her, and opening an umbrella. And....nothing. Barely any reaction at all. I tell ya, whoever did her ground training seems to have covered EVERYTHING!! apple
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Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466
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Post by Terry on Jul 19, 2014 2:53:15 GMT
That's awesome! I keep forgetting the umbrella. 
Today I tied a rope to a tarp, ran it around the saddle horn, and had Zena drag the tarp around the round pen (I did this from the ground with me leading Zena and holding the rope to the tarp, so if she panicked I could just let go of the rope and let the tarp fall). She handled it very well. She was side-stepping a bit going one direction, but never panicked. The other direction she acted like it was no big deal. 
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Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466
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Post by Terry on Jul 19, 2014 3:39:38 GMT
Just thought I would share something my hubby made for me. Previously I had to hang my cowboy curtain by running a rope through the holes in the shower curtain and tying it off to two eye hooks that I had screwed into a board under the lean, but I wanted to be able to use the cowboy curtain in the round pen, too. After seeing some of the obstacles they used at Road to the Horse, one of them being a portable cowboy curtain, hubby made one for me! Now when I want to use it in the round pen I just bring it out there, strap it to the panels, and we're good to go!
Here are some pictures
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Post by shadowlark on Jul 19, 2014 4:54:56 GMT
That's so awesome! I wish we had our own place so I could make random things like that!
Now don't forget the umbrella next time!
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Post by shadowlark on Jul 19, 2014 5:54:08 GMT
One of the reasons I finally got around to going out and trying stuff with Lucy was I saw that Interdressage was having a Practical Horsemanship Class this month and decided to give it a go. (Interdressage is basically a horse show conducted online. You film and upload to Youtube and get judged. Weird, but thought it might be fun to try.) So once I saw how awesome Lucy was, I thought "Why not just record it and get it over with?" So here it is! I could have dressed nicer for a 'show' but wasn't really thinking I'd would be doing it today - I thought for sure we'd have to work on umbrella! You got to pick 5 elements from a list they had, so I picked stand while handler walks around horse, rub all over with plastic bag, open umbrella and lead with open umbrella, walk over tarp, and back through poles. Could use some work on backing straight. And not breaking her trot. But not too bad for a first try :) |
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Jul 19, 2014 7:59:12 GMT
Great job!! I love how she stands when you go around her. Mine would just go after me :-D
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Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466
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Post by Terry on Jul 19, 2014 14:14:19 GMT
That was awesome!!! Thanks for sharing your video. I loved watching it! You and Lucy did great!
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Post by horselady on Jul 20, 2014 0:21:31 GMT
You and lucy look great. just a suggestion. how about doing that while riding.?
it would be a fun thing to do. and perhaps add a garbage can.
a horse i had was terrified of them. and he lived with it for 3 days until he finally got over the fear of it.
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Post by shadowlark on Jul 20, 2014 1:19:14 GMT
Yeah, I think we will try it from the saddle when I have a bit more confidence. Also gonna try the drag a tarp behind the saddle, first while lunging. Someone today suggested dragging a bag of pop cans around, so that could be fun!
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Thank you! 
