Kayleehan
Active Member
Spook busting equipment ideas needed, so far have tarp ?
Spook Busting Ideas Pls
- Thread starter Kayleehan
- Start date
Baywonder
Well-Known Member
Balloons, umbrellas, flashing roadworks type lights, traffic cones - and the icing on the cake....try and round up a few children to shout and cheer at random moments!
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
Maybe these 3 pictures from a page about spook training Swedish police horses could give you some ideas:
I also remember reading that one Swedish police horse rider used to throw apples towards (note not on, only towards as in nearby, next to, sometimes into their feed buckets) her horse, and the other horses.
She also hid apples in plastic bags, and trained the horses until they dared to stick their heads down into the plastic bag she held, and get the apples themselves. Then she started to drop the bags, wave them around, and as I recall it, ended also those sessions with letting the horse find apples inside the bag.
I would be a bit worried that a greedy horse might accidentally try to eat the plastic bag together with the apple, so perhaps it is better to use one of the modern type of bags that is replacing the plastic bags.
I also remember reading that one Swedish police horse rider used to throw apples towards (note not on, only towards as in nearby, next to, sometimes into their feed buckets) her horse, and the other horses.
She also hid apples in plastic bags, and trained the horses until they dared to stick their heads down into the plastic bag she held, and get the apples themselves. Then she started to drop the bags, wave them around, and as I recall it, ended also those sessions with letting the horse find apples inside the bag.
I would be a bit worried that a greedy horse might accidentally try to eat the plastic bag together with the apple, so perhaps it is better to use one of the modern type of bags that is replacing the plastic bags.
SpeedyPony
Well-Known Member
Barking dogs, plastic bags, car horns, people shouting, prams.
asmp
Well-Known Member
Wheely bins (preferably with something smelly inside!). You‘ll meet plenty of those on bin day.
And don’t forget man-eating flowers!
And don’t forget man-eating flowers!
Unicorn
Well-Known Member
And then give them bicycles, skateboards, prams... (the children, not the horses!)
The big exercise balls can be fun too.
Tarp doesn't just have to go on the ground, either. It can drape over things and be flappy..or be put on a pony.
Shay
Well-Known Member
Upside down buckets. You'd be amazed how many won't jump them for bucket elimination! A rug - or coat - over your show jump poles. That horrible fake plastic grass.
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
Yea we did Brolly and flag and Bunting and Tarp just for the fun this summer, need to get a pit bike now, but don't want to spend the money in this climate.
Not_so_brave_anymore
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty useless in most ways, but the one thing I've aced is bomproofing the ponies. All you will need is:
A climbing frame, complete with squeaky swings and loose slide
An enormous pirate flag
Some bouncy tyres half buried in the ground
Lots (and lots) of plastic toys/balls/hoops/bikes left strewn all over the place
4 semi-feral children (ideally see if you can persuade their schools to shut for 6 months)
Lastly- give the children water guns
Seriously though- borrow some kids. Kids on bikes. Kids on bikes with water guns.
Oh ps this won't make your horse brave about pheasants.
A climbing frame, complete with squeaky swings and loose slide
An enormous pirate flag
Some bouncy tyres half buried in the ground
Lots (and lots) of plastic toys/balls/hoops/bikes left strewn all over the place
4 semi-feral children (ideally see if you can persuade their schools to shut for 6 months)
Lastly- give the children water guns
Seriously though- borrow some kids. Kids on bikes. Kids on bikes with water guns.
Oh ps this won't make your horse brave about pheasants.
Brownmare
Well-Known Member
According to my mare the scariest thing out there is a plant with Big Leaves!!! So yes, maybe have a couple of those around too ? For tractors and big machinery or other scary traffic I always find following them up the road to "chase them away" always builds a horse's confidence.
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
Some more things I came to think about this morning:
Hang up some empty cans on strings, maybe tie them around a jumping pole. Wrap large strings of Christmas glitter around a jumping pole.
Tie a thin towel or similar at the end of a stick, so you can wave it around like a flag.
If you have a dust rocker at home, maybe you can push the handle a bit down into the ground to make it stand, or just wave it around a bit.
If you have any old toys at home that makes sounds or moves that you're not too careful with, maybe use them. (For example I have one of those singing hamsters that sings Kung Fu fighting, I also have a rabbit that moves somewhere. And 2 Zhu-zhu pets hamsters, that makes a few different noices randomly when activated, they can also move around, but they would need a flat surface with edges around to do it on.) Maybe you have an old xylophone for children, or one of those things you blew in, and then there where different coloured dots to press to change the tones?
Put different things in empty cans, place the lid back, and silver tape the lid to the can. Perhaps put nails in one, and dry beans, maybe some marbles, or small rocks in others. Shake them around to make sounds.
If you have a tree stump somewhere, nail two empty can lids on it so that it looks like two shiny eyes. You can also make the eyes by putting tin foil around a piece of round cardboard. And use a permanent black marker pen to make a black center, to make them look more like eyes.
If you have any metal chains, or metal choke collars for dogs, rattle them, let them slide down into a metal wheelbarrow, later maybe throw them down...
Hang up some empty cans on strings, maybe tie them around a jumping pole. Wrap large strings of Christmas glitter around a jumping pole.
Tie a thin towel or similar at the end of a stick, so you can wave it around like a flag.
If you have a dust rocker at home, maybe you can push the handle a bit down into the ground to make it stand, or just wave it around a bit.
If you have any old toys at home that makes sounds or moves that you're not too careful with, maybe use them. (For example I have one of those singing hamsters that sings Kung Fu fighting, I also have a rabbit that moves somewhere. And 2 Zhu-zhu pets hamsters, that makes a few different noices randomly when activated, they can also move around, but they would need a flat surface with edges around to do it on.) Maybe you have an old xylophone for children, or one of those things you blew in, and then there where different coloured dots to press to change the tones?
Put different things in empty cans, place the lid back, and silver tape the lid to the can. Perhaps put nails in one, and dry beans, maybe some marbles, or small rocks in others. Shake them around to make sounds.
If you have a tree stump somewhere, nail two empty can lids on it so that it looks like two shiny eyes. You can also make the eyes by putting tin foil around a piece of round cardboard. And use a permanent black marker pen to make a black center, to make them look more like eyes.
If you have any metal chains, or metal choke collars for dogs, rattle them, let them slide down into a metal wheelbarrow, later maybe throw them down...
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Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
At Équirando last year I had a go at a little TREC circuit.
One of the "obstacles" was an pink inflatable dragon (or maybe unicorn, I forget) tethered to a line with a bit of slack... it was inflated to around 80% so that it didn't hold its shape properly and sort of flopped about and moved as the breeze pushed it.
One of the "obstacles" was an pink inflatable dragon (or maybe unicorn, I forget) tethered to a line with a bit of slack... it was inflated to around 80% so that it didn't hold its shape properly and sort of flopped about and moved as the breeze pushed it.
Cowpony
Well-Known Member
Well if your horse is anything like mine, just move a chair slightly out of position 
Or take a couple of straw bales out of the stack they pass every day and load them on a wheelbarrow......
Or take a couple of straw bales out of the stack they pass every day and load them on a wheelbarrow......Henry02
Well-Known Member
Flags, tin cans in a plastic bag, football rattle, childs clapper toy, squeaky toy, plastic rustley raincoat, lightweight ball
Muddywellies
Well-Known Member
That's all childsplay ?.
You need some really heavy duty scary stuff that melts many horses brains. Can you track down a teeny yet terrifying sparrow. Oh I know, nightmare of nightmares, a sneeze, or get someone close by to make a noise with the zip of their jacket ??
You need some really heavy duty scary stuff that melts many horses brains. Can you track down a teeny yet terrifying sparrow. Oh I know, nightmare of nightmares, a sneeze, or get someone close by to make a noise with the zip of their jacket ??
Bluewaves
Well-Known Member
Cows and Shetland ponies
Supertrooper
Well-Known Member
Saw a brilliant demo by metropolitan mounted police a few years ago
They had tarpaulin with balloons under so they burst under horses feet
Toys that whirled around on the floor
Bins with smoke machines in
As they do Notting Hill carnival they had various sized grim reapers, culminating in one on stilts
And us as a rent a crowd clapping and stamping our feet
All young horses that were in fairly early stages of training. Only thing that spooked them was initial stages of clapping training but the riders were so calm and brilliant they gave them so much confidence
They had tarpaulin with balloons under so they burst under horses feet
Toys that whirled around on the floor
Bins with smoke machines in
As they do Notting Hill carnival they had various sized grim reapers, culminating in one on stilts
And us as a rent a crowd clapping and stamping our feet
All young horses that were in fairly early stages of training. Only thing that spooked them was initial stages of clapping training but the riders were so calm and brilliant they gave them so much confidence
MereChristmas
riding reluctantly into the sunset
I am not sure how to replicate it but one of the scariest things has been the wind blowing through hollow jump wings.
Nudibranch
Well-Known Member
Just don't go too far...my two now think bellowing children, prams, balance bikes and rattly pull along tractors herald the arrival of a feed bucket so make a beeline for them if we see them out and about. The Dales likes to plant and have a good stare in hope of some grub, which can be a bit disconcerting for non horsey parents ?