Desensitizing ideas please

PurplePickle

PurplePickle

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I have a 15.2 mare, 3yo just started light ground work , she is very strong but Ive worked on voice aids, desensitizing with a waggly stick (bag on the end) and walking over things, scary things, etc to a point where shes working very well except...

One thing I need to work on is her dislike and bolt response to things behind her, it can be a noise, movement or vehicle! which is the more worrying one.

Shes had teeth checked and done by dentist and otherwise in good health.

I had got her long reining nicely with me in walk, relaxed , but soon as anyone else tries it or we try trot she starts to try and bolt and then turn around some times full turn if im not quick enough to get her going forward.

Shes always been a bit jumpy ever since someone drove right up behind her at a show and frightened her.

Im also thinking we might take the 4x4 in the field and try get her used to it, walking up to it and eventually trying to drive up behind her and get her used to vehicles passing.

Shes seen traffic and is fine with it in front of her.

Any other ideas as to how to get her used to movement and noise behind? thanks in advance
 
I had a similar problem with a weaned foal who was very nervous of my approaching from a certain angle (from behind and to the side). I solved that by approaching with a tid-bit (slice of carrot) at an angle that increasingly got nearer and nearer to what upset him, time and time again. Repetition, pushing the boundaries within what they can cope with every time, is really the answer..

Basically, you need to think in terms of "eroding the threshold". What I mean by that is your horse will tolerate (for example) a car coming up behind him until it is at a certain distance. This is just logical. I doubt he is scared by a car 100 yards away. But at 10 yards he probably panics. Somewhere between 10 yards and 100 yards is a point where he is nervous of the approach but tolerates it. You need reduce that distance by countering his nervousness with something he likes until he'll accept the car neater the 10 yard distance.

I did it with my youngsters with a slice of carrot. All I can suggest is that you take every opportunity to think (and act) along those lines.

I had one helper here who got very enthusiastic about this sort of desensitisation. She would take a youngster up next to the road and pop a slice of carrot into it's mouth every time a car passed! A bit extreme, but it worked and the pony is now pretty much bomb proof! You just have to keep at it. It doesn't have to be a car. Anything that he is nervous of will work but you will need a helper. (Someone carrying a plastic sheet?). But keep ringing the changes until he realises those scary things are just normal.

A very wise old lady once said to me, "Nothing can remain fearful for ever". That is good advice.
 
Great thanks both of you.

We did some work with the 4x4 tonight, got it right up to her, driving from behind slowly etc, we had polos and she wasnt interested except a quick stop and look at it when it sped up. Going to try more things ie tarp etc as well


She does seem to take to things quite quickly so I am hoping that if we just keep repeating things eventually she wont mind. She does test the boundaries a lot when not wanting to work, so all round a 'hard work' horse LOL
 
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