MotherOfChickens
MotherDucker
could you record the noise and do a bit of sound desensitisation that way? Really tough that you have quads on the yard but no-one will help you-guess there's no chance they'd let your OH use it for a bit.
I imagine that the rider's reaction also plays a part too. I.e. if the horse spooks and the rider gets worried and stays worried, that will contribute to the horse's reactions. It may even be that the rider thinks they've relaxed but actually they are tensed up/ holding the horse too tightly.
I went to a behavioural talk which was interesting as they talked about the triggers and the stacking which is pretty obvious in many ways but it did really make me think about it. I agree very much with HashRouge - I love following LifeofBean on twitter - racehorse in training and she just pretty much laughs when he spooks etc and I found laughing or singing (poor horse) helps me relax which helps him relax. That isn't always going to help in the multi trigger issue but definitely helps at stage 1!
If this is a native type that is having kittens because of the golf, it is unlikely to be a quick fix. In his head, it is a twig snapping because of the stalking wolf that is about to pounce. A native's survival instinct is very strong and can't be easily over ridden.
We seem to have a golf club. OH says it came with the flat (as these things do?). If we got a ball, I guess we could whack it around the outdoor, but gently. There's no safe place where we could really thwack it, plus it's not like either of us can do a proper golf swing anyway.
I should add that we have to do everything on lead. We are not allowed to turn horses loose in any arena. So we have to work around that rule, unfortunately.
Ah - the one who protects you from wild boar
I find that focusing on them when also doing something potentially alarming makes the alarming thing more so.
Another perspecrtive on this though is that many horses left to their own devices are pretty good at letting go of tension after a fright. Being on constant high alert wastes energy which is bad news for a prey animal and therefore they have mechanisms for releasing the tension and chilling out quite soon after being in danger. And yet trigger stacking is clearly seen all the time. So somehow we get in the way of that natural ability to spook and then settle again quickly.
yeah my trainer pointed this out to a group of us watching a demo a few years ago, wild horses spook then go back to eating, of course they do otherwise they would die of starvation. Horses can often "get over" a fright very quickly.Another perspecrtive on this though is that many horses left to their own devices are pretty good at letting go of tension after a fright. Being on constant high alert wastes energy which is bad news for a prey animal and therefore they have mechanisms for releasing the tension and chilling out quite soon after being in danger. And yet trigger stacking is clearly seen all the time. So somehow we get in the way of that natural ability to spook and then settle again quickly.
I try to use Warwick Schiller's "observing the ears" tricks to get him back when I lose him, but it doesn't always work. I wonder if owners of BLM mustangs find that it takes a while for them to lose that alertness they need to survive in the wild, if they ever do.
yeah my trainer pointed this out to a group of us watching a demo a few years ago, wild horses spook then go back to eating, of course they do otherwise they would die of starvation. Horses can often "get over" a fright very quickly.
it's interesting watching how different individuals deal with things though. one of mine won't look at a scary thing out of choice and would probably prefer never to look at what scared her ever again for the rest of her life. Deny deny deny seems to be her approach. i did manage to teach her to approach and nose-boop things on demand.
Others, most notably my 2yo are overcome by curiosity, i love watching her encounter new stuff because a quick startle and tail-over-back really quickly turns into nosiness, she approaches things that previously frightened her very readily. I am very very keen not to interfere with that attitude!
We are doing better with quads as well. The yard staff left one sitting in front of the hay barn last month, and I took advantage of the situation to walk him up to it and give him treats.
At least he isn't bothered by backpackers, or people with hiking poles. The WHW is full of those. He did get very worried by a child "cantering" after us, pretending to be a horse. I turned around and told her to please not do that. He's not in love with the playground at Mugdock, which is full of screaming children, but he will go past it calmly so long as you don't hang about.
Before I got him, I was riding my friend's horse, and she was riding her other horse. We approached the visitor's centre and encountered an open air opera concert. The horses were not opera fans, which was understandable. Neither am I. We hurried away, bouncing until we got out of earshot.
Re: Palo's husband jumping a tent. I bet that backpacker had a good story when he got home. "You won't believe what happened to me..."