tips for spook busting session in the school

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darkhorse123

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My yardmate and I have decided to do a spookbusting session in our school - its not a huge school but could do with some ideas of what to put in there?
We have thought to hang carrier bags from trees, someone opening and shutting an umbrella, someone cycling .
Any other ideas what we could put in or do ?
 
Crinkly sheet on floor for them to walk over could be another one? All depends on what your horse is scared off...mine hates black bags but fab with everything else so dida spook busting session hanging black bin bags off the fence. Put his feed bucket right next to them so to get his tea he had to be next to them...cruel but it worked! He is super now! hee hee
Good luck!
 
tarpaulin on the floor to walk on :)
fillers lined up like a tunnel type thing to walk between
kick a foot ball around a bit
errmm ride under the tarpaulin (holding it up obviously :o)
put a sheet over their head

it depends what your horse is scared of tbh
 
You could hang washing up and ride under it and have people shouting and clapping, make a seesaw to ride over, umberella opening and closing, tarpauline on the ground , water trays to walk through,
 
ty so so much!
Hes a bit of a weird one tbh - he is fine on the roads, traffic etc no problem
Its bushes and trees he doesnt like - if they change - oh god this sounds daft but he is getting a bit daft now because the leaves are changing colour and disapearing! He doesnt like change!
Take him on leeds main ring road he is a star - walking up a country lane is a different matter - he doesnt like logs!
 
Swiss ball - get them to follow it initially then you can build up to having them push it, sit on them and bounce it, rest it on their backs, have two people toss it over them, bounce it gently on their bum like a massage - my friend's pony chases his around the school!
Tarp - walk trot and canter over it - depending on how well secured it is, go underneath it, get your horse to drag it, make a tunnel with it for your horse to push through (Tazzle has a cool video of this somewhere if you search for horse agility it might come up), drape it over your horse
Teach your horse to lay down
Plastic bag on a stick - we call it a flag - can use it to give cues or stroke the horse all over with it including under the belly and all the legs then beat the ground with it and make flappy helicopters with it while standing behind the horse with the horse at liberty and the horse should stay standing still and relaxed
Slap at things with your whip as you ride along to get your horse used to random noises. I have mine to the point where I can stand on her waving a lunge whip in each hand and I know she will stay relaxed as long as I am but the tiniest little squeeze with my legs and she is off - she knows which are cues and which aren't.
Get those tapes for desensitising household pets to fireworks and play them.
Do a search for Tazzle's videos and watch them. The woman is full of inspirational ideas. Love it.
Search on youtube for Parelli online and liberty auditions to see what people's ideas are and also look for horse agility. There are lots of ideas there - some will be useful, some won't - just pick what you like and dump the rest. Have fun!
 
Great suggestions, but if you use a bike just be very careful to keep the bike well away from the horse especially tail - so easy for horse and bike to get tangled up. . . had a childhood accident that way. :-0

Bunting is good, get it off ebay. Strips of rustly plastic bag attached to the end of a stick, put a rubber band round it to start with to keep it "small" then undo the band as the horse gets more confident. Good for desensitising legs as you can keep your distance! Most horses will find this scary at first if brandished with appropriate energy. . .

If change is an issue, you might want to get in the habit of leaving a different random object in the yard and school each day - soon they stop worrying so much about what has changed.
 
thank you for your comments unbalanced :) * blushes . they are appreciated.

my favourite topic :D . doing this stuff does not mean your horse will never ever spook or get upset with something but it sure helps habituate a horse to "strange" things happening. It is also fun ;)


a few pics and links .......


this I made this years ago cos folk asked why I "played around" ;)

http://www.youtube.com/user/tazzle22?feature=mhsn#p/u/9/Hj0f1DghFPo

and we have done more since then ...we have got an interest in horse agility and here are a few things we have done

ribbon curtain . I have seen some made with twine but they tangle easy ...as do those "flyscreen" curtains for doorways ... tape from diy stores better imo

tazcurtain.jpg





see saw ......

mayagility011.jpg



pedestal ... well Taz not quite got it here :D :D :D

Picture114.jpg


bonney did it better ;)

Picture118.jpg




the bridge
bridge.jpg


this is our first session riding with the flag

http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/tazzle22/agility/?action=view&current=flag-1.mp4



we also have several of them whirly things you get for gardens, we get them cheap from a local hypermarket place .. and its funny but some horses did not like th ebunch of plastic flowers we got :rolleyes:

we got footbqall rattles and childrens drums if you can borrw a few kids too they love to make noises.

there were stones loose in the big metal drums

oh and we have quite a few 25l plastic containers which can be used for various things including just walking through / over them


oh and plastic bottles and cans ..... either drag them or make curtains of them


we also got the end of a roll of industrial black plastic... lucky one that !!!




this is matt refreshing stuff we have done before as prep for the tunnel

http://www.youtube.com/user/tazzle22?feature=mhsn#p/u/2/2AaNenWYPD0


and the tunnel itself

this is still a rough version ... we eventually want it to look like a proper one just like the dogs :cool:

http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/tazzle22/?action=view&current=clipoftunnel.mp4


with a bit of imagination and raiding the yard / garage / kids toy cupboard and local cheapy stores you can do all sorts stuff. :D:D :D :D
 
Word of warning with the pedestals - at my old yard there were a couple of pedestals like the ones in tazzle's pictures and other ones made out of wooden pallets so my mare has the idea of climbing up onto things. Then I went to a sponsored ride last May and found a handy treetrunk (you know where the tree has been cut down, an enormous one about four feet high and wide enough to lie down on nearly) to mount from. So I clambered up onto it with pony next to it then turned to call back to my friend over at the trailer. Next thing I knew my pony was standing on the tree trunk next to me looking for polos! She absolutely loves climbing on things and may have been a mountain goat in a previous life.
 
ROFLMAO

indeed you are quite right .... before you teach a horse anything think it through ;).


My daughter unbeknown to me tried to teach Bonney to "give a hoof" when she pointed at the hoof while standing in front of her..........I only found out then I went to ask her to pick up a foot to clean it out and almost got kneecapped and my dentistry rearranged :eek:

One has a responsibility to have each action on cue ;) I mean imagine Taz bursting the balloons on a gatepost showing the way to a party .... all those poor guests getting lost :rolleyes:
 
wow i knew you would all come up trumps!!! Loads of fab ideas here and tazzle ty especially love your pics - will watch the vids tonight when im home. :D:D:D
 
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