Sudden pheasants etc..follow on from cantering on verges thread.

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pennyturner

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Those of you whose horses take flight at the sudden appearance of a pheasant ... how do you ride past crow scarers without needing a change of trousers?

For me, it is a matter of de-sensitisation, and very much trainable, but I see others have different views. Discuss :D
 
I am a little confused how are crow scarers the same thing? Crow scarers are just a loud bang which go off multiple times a day and the horses just ignore it. A bird flying out at them is a bit different.
 
Don't you have to ride right past the gas cylinder on the field verges, with it likely to go off by your feet at any moment? ... we certainly do, and it's much more startling than any of the 8 million pheasants in every hedgerow for miles.
 
pennyturner said:
Don't you have to ride right past the gas cylinder on the field verges, with it likely to go off by your feet at any moment? ... we certainly do, and it's much more startling than any of the 8 million pheasants in every hedgerow for miles.
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Never had one go off as we walk along side it they are usually further away. They are in every field around the horses too so they are quite used to the loud bangs. They might look but dont do anything else.

Oddly mine spooks at the birds and sometimes if there are lots on a power cable too but a rabbit running out in front of him in a field wasn't a cause for concern. It gave me more of a fright than him ha. They get rabbits and hares in their field though so he will be used to them running in front of him. He will hopefully get over the pheasant thing eventually but I am not holding out any hope for him learning quickly.
 
I can't think what the time lapse is between bangs with the bird scarer, but years ago we had to ride past one of these things on a local path. We would hang back till it went off, then go hell for leather past the thing before it went off again. Wouldn't want to be next to one when it fired! As for pheasants - I think the horses get used to them. Mine have. Only get a bit of a twitch. But then they are kept on a pheasant breeding farm, so I guess familiarity breeds contempt.
 
We have the odd spook if a phesant runs under us, but my Arab has mostly got used to them. Regards gas guns, I give him a mint every time one goes off. He stops and waits for his treat now.:)
 
I would gladly shoot our resident pheasant! He has an amazing ability to rise up from the crops like a Phoenix out of the ashes, just when I'm hacking past. Or he runs out in front of me while I'm having a canter and then legs it along so we are chasing him. Weird bird.
 
well, mine are used to geese, large ducks laying eggs in their stables (while they are in there-so flying in and out), chickens etc. so they are pretty bird proof and wouldn't waste energy on a pheasant. however, one spooks at big rocks. its not lack of desensitisation-there are big rocks everywhere. he's just an arse.
 
This thread is a bit daft. If something makes you jump, it makes you jump. How do you desensitise your horses PT? Lead them along the bush and get someone to jump out at them? :confused:

Half the time I'm the one who's been surprised by something suddenly flying out, so I can't blame any horse for doing the same given that they're prey animals.
 
SpringArising said:
This thread is a bit daft. If something makes you jump, it makes you jump. How do you desensitise your horses PT? Lead them along the bush and get someone to jump out at them? :confused:

Half the time I'm the one who's been surprised by something suddenly flying out, so I can't blame any horse for doing the same given that they're prey animals.
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I agree it is almost impossible to stop them jumping at something totally unexpected, whether it is a bird flying up under their feet or a bang very close by but that does not mean they will all take flight and run off, that you can train them out of, you can just as easily "train" them to run off after a scare if you allow it to happen more than once, most horses will react to something unknown, it is stopping them overreacting and reverting to instinct and taking flight that is part of a normal training regime.
 
be positive said:
I agree it is almost impossible to stop them jumping at something totally unexpected, whether it is a bird flying up under their feet or a bang very close by but that does not mean they will all take flight and run off, that you can train them out of, you can just as easily "train" them to run off after a scare if you allow it to happen more than once, most horses will react to something unknown, it is stopping them overreacting and reverting to instinct and taking flight that is part of a normal training regime.
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^^ this, and part of training them is training yourself. I had a horse that used to bronk when I was younger, and it became a reflex to stick my leg on quick whenever I felt a horse hesitate or stiffen or spook (that's when he'd bronk).

When mine spook, my leg goes on almost as fast as they can think, (often before I've even thought about it too!) and they USUALLY ( ;) ) go forward in a straight line rather than darting sideways, and I can't remember the last time I got carted in a spook by a horse I've trained because they all get taught that it's a no-no. I agree you can't stop them having a fright, but you can teach them how to react appropriately, in control.
 
SpringArising said:
This thread is a bit daft. If something makes you jump, it makes you jump. How do you desensitise your horses PT? Lead them along the bush and get someone to jump out at them? :confused:
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get someone to throw pheasants at your horse :D

agreed, besides-I'd not want to ride something that dead to the world around them. how would you survive the zombie apocalypse on that!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
get someone to throw pheasants at your horse :D

agreed, besides-I'd not want to ride something that dead to the world around them. how would you survive the zombie apocalypse on that!
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I would be screwed in a zombie apocalypse if I used my horse as a means of transport. He would be going up to them looking for treats.
 
Have had my new horse three weeks now and he still startleds/jumps when he hears a golfer hit a gold ball (we ride along next to a golf course) and it's happened maybe 30/40 times. He's not a spooky horse but if something makes him jump he jumps, most ridiculous yet is a sparrow sized bird flying out of a tree haha
 
Todays horses just are not as street wise as they used to be.
That' because they don't get exposed to all these different things as youngsters and are not hacked out with an laid back experienced horse on a daily basis once they are backed.
Todays horses spend far too much time in an arena going in circles and getting bored out of their skulls.
 
Some peoples horses are not street wise but it's easy peasy to train them to be street wise .
You and they just have to get on with it .
 
PeterNatt said:
Todays horses spend far too much time in an arena going in circles and getting bored out of their skulls.
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Our arena is the best place for pheasant training. When there are nearby shoots, the pheasants come and hide in the safety of the dip on the other side of the arena fence and emerge at random moments as you ride alongside them.

Gas guns are pretty loud when you are right next to them. When I was liveried on a farm we knew there were 3 bangs in a row and then twenty minutes so we kept an ear out and made sure we not right alongside when they went off.
 
The most important element to sitting a "pheasant spook" is to make sure you have done your girth up properly- ask me how I know this....
 
I think pheasants and crow scarers are the same, - the horses reaction will depend on how much trust it has in you - and that will depend on training/how much you have been consistent, clear and dependable.

Oh and Skint1, having your girth done up is definitely a pre-requisite!
 
skint1 said:
The most important element to sitting a "pheasant spook" is to make sure you have done your girth up properly- ask me how I know this....
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Having a neck strap helps too. Remembering to grab hold of said neck strap is necessary though i always forget.
 
SpringArising said:
This thread is a bit daft. If something makes you jump, it makes you jump. How do you desensitise your horses PT? Lead them along the bush and get someone to jump out at them? :confused:
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I had a horse that used to be frightened of pheasants, then we moved to Hampshire, where the hedges are full of them, and he got used to them. That is the key... whatever the trigger is, the horse just needs to see lots, and lots, and lots of it, until it's normal.

If that means having someone the far side of a hedge chucking pheasants at neddy whilst you feed him a bag of carrots, so be it.
 
My daughter (13) just told me of an occasion where her little stallion put up half a dozen pheasants from right under his hooves whilst cantering along a track. Her description was that they flew up and right alongside them for quite a way.
Her words... "it was magical"
 
The bird scarer going off startles me more than it startles my horse, but agree with what others have said, if it doesn't bother you then it won't bother them (obviously there are the odd exceptions). I often have the bird scarer going off on one side of the yard, and a shoot on the other side, I used to avoid riding when it was going on, but had a word with myself and now we just get on with it. He does have the odd spook, but the more he's exposed to it the better he is.
 
Forget horses. I walked into our hay barn as it was just getting light last week & startled a whole family of pheasants. I must have leapt about 6 foot sideways!
 
Well of course if you own a welsh cob then neither pheasants nor bird scarers will bother them, but a man wearing a hat (or not wearing a hat when he should be) will be utterly terrifying.
 
rachk89 said:
Having a neck strap helps too. Remembering to grab hold of said neck strap is necessary though i always forget.
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I have a neck strap AND a strap across the d-rings- did I remember to utilise either of these as I slid gracefully down his neck to the floor? Nope, not a bit :) My poor lad is an utter gent and will do all he can to "save" you should you become unseated, but even he could not save me from myself! He looked at me in disbelief and then, forgetting his abject terror, partook of some delicious grass whilst I hobbled to my feet ha

I don't mind the sideways hop/spin at a surprise pheasant or sound, if he was a bolter, or rearer, I would be really bothered by that. I don't know how you can de-sensitise other than riding through it and keeping confidence so that the little wibble doesn't go anny further
 
I don't agree that you can always train a horse to behave. I had an absolute knob of a horse who would just find random things to spook spin and pee off at. I sold him to a rider with longer legs and greater patience. I now have a much nicer horse and I can safely ride him through scary things and upsets, primarily because he is geniunely scared and not trying to deposit me.
 
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