Hawkman strikes again

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Louby

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I posted a while ago about my horses irrational fear of the hawk that is excercised in the woods near our stables. None of the other horses bother but my horse goes mad, running round his stable and at the door, squashing me to get to the door and pooing all over the place. This continues in the evening even though the hawk has long gone. For the last couple of weeks hes been fine and I thought he'd got over it but today he was in the field and whilst the others grazed, he was trotting back and forths and genually upset. Hawk man had long gone by the time he was brought in and he was like a madman. I lunged him and he was a looney but settled down and was fine in his stable after. He cant see the hawk but he hears its cries and the bells.
Does anyone know what these bells are called or where I can buy some as Im going to try and de sensitise him to them.
Also should I be firm and tell him off for being so irrational or what. I have to tye him up short to brush or put his boots on as he'd run me over when hes like this.
His irrational behaviour is a problem, he just seems to lose it and doesnt calm down. He was like this in the trailer when we tried to put the ramp up even after months of loading him with no problem. Im sure he would have killed himself or me trying to get out if I had managed to get the ramp up. Other than being spooky he is a lazy laid back type of horse.
Thanks for any replies.
 
I remember when you posted about this before..I dont know what the bells are called sorry but good luck Im interested to know how you get on
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Louby, I think the whole bit that goes round the falcon's legs are called jesses (?sp). But if horsey-o loses the plot occasionally over other stuff, maybe it's not so much the hawk bells as a general insecurity? What about taking him back to basics with a ton of ground work and "Bombproof Your Horse" type stuff? Get him walking over tarps on the ground, past umbrellas, bunting, pushchairs, under stuff on high poles like they do on Trec. Give him some confidence that the world won't end just coz a butterfly goes past. Police and RDA horse training stuff. There's a fabulous book called Bombproof Your Horse - can't remember the author but if you're interested will dig it out. x
 
Very strange, as I used to fly a hawk who was afraid of horses, which was a little awkward, as all the land I had permission to fly over belonged to a livery stable!

The leather straps that the bird is held by are called jesse's. The bells are called Falconry or Lahore bells and by their design they are discordant.

Years of bunny bashing on paddock land has led me to understand that (some) horses are very sensitive to higher frequencies, my New Forest is, and as Lahore bells are both high frequency AND discordant, this may be some of the problem.

If you want some bells, there are tons as cheap as anything on Ebay. When I was flying, they cost a bomb, and my hawk used to 'lose' one on a regular basis
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Awww thanks, I will have a look for that. I think it is an insecurity issue too. Hes a funny boy, quite quirky. He can be bolshy too especially with me but then I have been way too soft with him. Always had mares that were very affectionate. Then the big black monster arrived
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He does take the micky, he will walk past flapping plastic then spook at the jumps that have been in the school for months.
It hasnt helped that hes grazed alone now since fracturing his leg (his friends are in the same field just seperated by electric fencing). He used to play all day and was whacked when it come to me riding but now he's got loads of negative energy.
 
Thanks for that, just had a look on Ebay, they come in different sizes so probably a silly question but will they all sound the same and how many do I need?
 
The smaller they are the higher the pitch, but to be honest we used to use smaller bells on smaller birds and bigger bells on bigger birds!

You need two, and as the guy flying locally has a hawk, get some hawk bells, which will be medium sized.
 
They are there to help locate the bird when it is out of sight, either in a tree on on the ground having stooped to prey.

One of the reasons they are discordant is because it grates on the senses!

Oh yes, you are going to be really popular
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Could you get in touch with the hawk man and arrange a (very well controlled!) meeting for your horse and the hawk, in case its the bird he is afraid of not just the bells? It might be that he panics cos he thinks the hawk might be hunting him??

Let us know how you get on with the bells!
 
Yes, that's a really good idea and the austringer (a person who hunts with a hawk) will probably be only too please to help.

I did exactly the same, in reverse, to part cure my hawks fear of horses. He never quite trusted them, but it stopped him sitting in trees screaming all sorts of hawky swear words at the poor horses.
 
Yes I reckon he would bring her to meet the horses. Hes a lovely man but must think I dont like him me as I hate it when he arrives as it sends my horse nuts.
I will ask him next time he comes as he parks in the yard. God my horse will go mad
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