How To Safely Help Your Horse Over Fear of Scary Things
Have you ever handled a horse that was afraid of something it saw? If you handle and ride young or many different ones, it's bound to happen.
Some seem to be super sensitive to so many things whereas others take almost everything in stride.
Some will see something they are afraid of and freeze, looking before deciding to leave and others will take off at the slightest suggestion of something amiss.
I've been on them before that were so terrified of something that I could actually feel the horse's heartbeat through the saddle.
Not a confidence builder for horse or human either one! Some horses react in a big way to something that spooks them, others startle and soon get over their fear and go on.
Being prey animals that were food for predators makes it a necessity that they are aware of their environment.
That is the way the species has survived throughout the years, and we can't change that fact.
Even very flighty horses can be helped to overcome their fears if dealt with in a calm, consistent manner.
What we can do is help them learn to trust that we are not going to place them in harm's way.
You can't begin to introduce a horse to all of the many things that might frighten it, but you can desensitize them to many things and use the techniques enough that they become a reassuring pattern that will help calm the horse in future situations that are frightening for the horse.
Like other skills in horse training, desensitizing them to things that worry it works a lot better to start the process from the ground.
This is a much safer position for the human, plus it helps build confidence in them faster.
Later, the concepts will be applied under saddle.
Our understanding of advance and retreat is crucial to the process of desensitizing a horse.
If they are flooded with scary things and can't get away from them, their fears just build and build.
A horse might eventually just give up and tolerate whatever it is that scared it, but it won't be confident about it, and that doesn't create a safe mount.
I bought a young horse who had been started with that kind of technique.
He would stand still when something was moving around him such as a rope or even a rider's hand, but he was terrified.
Some signs of a problem are with its head high in the air, wide-eyed and not blinking, perhaps flinching if something touches it.
Horses like that will tolerate it as long as they can and then suddenly explode, perhaps by bolting, perhaps by bucking.
Advance and retreat is a method that introduces the fearful thing in such a way that the horse gets a reward of instant release (retreat) when it first stands still.
Then the object is introduced again, and retreat of the object repeats instantaneously.
This goes on over and over until the horse realizes that there is nothing to be fearful of and actually relaxes.
An example would be a horse that is afraid of a big ball.
Have them on a long lead, anywhere from 12-22 feet long, and let it look at the ball from a distance, approaching it if it chooses, but don't force it to.
If it is scared at all, turn and walk away with the ball between you and the horse, the horse following along at the end of the lead.
If it is really afraid still, you might not have a long enough lead line yet.
They get braver if they are moving after something rather than it coming towards them.
When it is confident with that, turn and walk backwards holding the ball between you and the horse.
This can start with the length of the lead between you and the horse, but gradually they will get curious and start to catch up with the ball which is what you want, but it does it on its own instead of being forced.
When it is curious and trying to touch the ball, hold it still and let him sniff.
Remove the ball to a distance before it gets nervous.
Gradually, you should be able to move the ball towards the horse without it being afraid, but don't be in a hurry for that to happen.
When the horse is confident, you can approach the horse's shoulder with the ball.
Watch for signs of apprehension and retreat before the horse gets upset.
This will get yours confident much faster than trying to make it stand still while you approach with the ball.
Eventually, maybe not the first day, first week, or first month, but eventually on your horse's schedule, you will be able to bounce balls off it, roll them under it, and yours won't pay any attention.
Use this advance and retreat approach with a number of different items.
You will be amazed at the confidence you can build in it that will make it a lot more fun to be around.
Check out our website for more tips on natural horsemanship training.
This is just the tip of the iceberg to make a safer, more trusting horse.
Some seem to be super sensitive to so many things whereas others take almost everything in stride.
Some will see something they are afraid of and freeze, looking before deciding to leave and others will take off at the slightest suggestion of something amiss.
I've been on them before that were so terrified of something that I could actually feel the horse's heartbeat through the saddle.
Not a confidence builder for horse or human either one! Some horses react in a big way to something that spooks them, others startle and soon get over their fear and go on.
Being prey animals that were food for predators makes it a necessity that they are aware of their environment.
That is the way the species has survived throughout the years, and we can't change that fact.
Even very flighty horses can be helped to overcome their fears if dealt with in a calm, consistent manner.
What we can do is help them learn to trust that we are not going to place them in harm's way.
You can't begin to introduce a horse to all of the many things that might frighten it, but you can desensitize them to many things and use the techniques enough that they become a reassuring pattern that will help calm the horse in future situations that are frightening for the horse.
Like other skills in horse training, desensitizing them to things that worry it works a lot better to start the process from the ground.
This is a much safer position for the human, plus it helps build confidence in them faster.
Later, the concepts will be applied under saddle.
Our understanding of advance and retreat is crucial to the process of desensitizing a horse.
If they are flooded with scary things and can't get away from them, their fears just build and build.
A horse might eventually just give up and tolerate whatever it is that scared it, but it won't be confident about it, and that doesn't create a safe mount.
I bought a young horse who had been started with that kind of technique.
He would stand still when something was moving around him such as a rope or even a rider's hand, but he was terrified.
Some signs of a problem are with its head high in the air, wide-eyed and not blinking, perhaps flinching if something touches it.
Horses like that will tolerate it as long as they can and then suddenly explode, perhaps by bolting, perhaps by bucking.
Advance and retreat is a method that introduces the fearful thing in such a way that the horse gets a reward of instant release (retreat) when it first stands still.
Then the object is introduced again, and retreat of the object repeats instantaneously.
This goes on over and over until the horse realizes that there is nothing to be fearful of and actually relaxes.
An example would be a horse that is afraid of a big ball.
Have them on a long lead, anywhere from 12-22 feet long, and let it look at the ball from a distance, approaching it if it chooses, but don't force it to.
If it is scared at all, turn and walk away with the ball between you and the horse, the horse following along at the end of the lead.
If it is really afraid still, you might not have a long enough lead line yet.
They get braver if they are moving after something rather than it coming towards them.
When it is confident with that, turn and walk backwards holding the ball between you and the horse.
This can start with the length of the lead between you and the horse, but gradually they will get curious and start to catch up with the ball which is what you want, but it does it on its own instead of being forced.
When it is curious and trying to touch the ball, hold it still and let him sniff.
Remove the ball to a distance before it gets nervous.
Gradually, you should be able to move the ball towards the horse without it being afraid, but don't be in a hurry for that to happen.
When the horse is confident, you can approach the horse's shoulder with the ball.
Watch for signs of apprehension and retreat before the horse gets upset.
This will get yours confident much faster than trying to make it stand still while you approach with the ball.
Eventually, maybe not the first day, first week, or first month, but eventually on your horse's schedule, you will be able to bounce balls off it, roll them under it, and yours won't pay any attention.
Use this advance and retreat approach with a number of different items.
You will be amazed at the confidence you can build in it that will make it a lot more fun to be around.
Check out our website for more tips on natural horsemanship training.
This is just the tip of the iceberg to make a safer, more trusting horse.
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