Getting a horse less afraid of things…

My husband took in a horse for training and we filmed a little of what we did with him. Since there has been a few people here that has talked about their horses being shy I thought you might want to see what he did with him and how he progressed.

Some background for the horse:
He came to Norway from Holland and apparently was kept in a barn with an indoor arena attached to it, the horse was simply hardly ever outside!
I participated in a television series about animals, where I shoved different training solutions, and through that TV-series I met him.

The problem with him was that he had been spooked when I rider took of her jacket while on his back. He got startled, bucked, and scared again when she landed on his hind-end; he bucked again and the rider flew off (and got stepped on etc… making it very dramatic, but all ended well for the rider).
After this incident he got scared of anything happening over him and he had to be held by several people when mounting him.

So, in the show I started by teaching him the chair game, and it went very well.
Hubert, a 5 year (I think) old Fresian gelding, was a great learner with a super temperament, he caught on really easily.
The owner got her homework and a week after filming the first session we went back to show the results so far. He did great, but then we decided to take him outside to film him there since the weather was so great. That's when we discovered that his problems were a bit bigger than we thought.

A little bird landed in the sand… OH MY GOD!! he said.
A car passed on the road a quarter mile away… OH MY GOD!!!! he said.
A dear moved in the field so far away that it was hard to see what it was… OH MY… well you get the idea… !

We filmed the chair game (that did work well enough for the series), but talked to the owner about the dangers of riding out with this horse the way he reacted to every thing. Shortly after my husband happened to be at a weeks course not far from his stable so he started visiting the horse to see if he could help them a little. When he returned home he brought the horse with him for training. He stayed here for three-four months (about - can't remember exactly) and here are some of the clips from the training.

There are several little clips and I will post them in separate posts so that you can comment and ask questions about them if you want to. If you don't have any comments I will just let the clips speak for themselves :)

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Deborah Hopkins on October 13, 2010 at 12:29pm

Hello Ellen, could you start a thread on your method for getting a horse confident with traffic?
Lots of us would benefit from this topic I'm sure. Thanks :)

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on October 11, 2010 at 2:48pm

Permalink Reply by Megan Hammock on October 12, 2010 at 1:34pm

TOO cute.. We are getting them used to generators, leaf blowers and chain saws.. They're doing great so far:)

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on October 11, 2010 at 2:49pm

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on October 12, 2010 at 1:01pm

A little comment on the use of the flag here...
I don't normally recommend people to teach horses not to react to a stick like this. The reason Gunnar is doing it here is to really test the reaction of something rattling over the horse. The accident the horse was involved with happened when the rider tried to take off her rain coat and that rattling sound scared him. The owners were here (they are filming and commenting a bit) and it is important that they really trusted that he wouldn't spook by those things any more, so Gunnar is just trying to prove to them that the problem is over. Otherwise they might be nervous about it and that could cause the horse to get worried again...

Permalink Reply by Deborah Hopkins on October 13, 2010 at 12:54pm

An interesting observation ... that the rider's fear can hinder progress! Something I am just coming to terms with myself. Doing these exercises with your horse (point taken about the wild flag) would be a great way to prove to yourself that the horse can handle it ... and so can you! Good for the horse, just as good for the rider !!

Permalink Reply by Megan Hammock on October 12, 2010 at 1:37pm

How long did it take ya'll to get him used to that? Kai and I are "playing" with a saddle blanket now.. She likes sniffing it while it's standing on the ground, but is a little leary of me petting her with it..
She lets me start to put it on her back.. Then she casually walks off.. Goofy girl:)

Wow, these are so impressive considering he was such a scaredy boy..

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on October 11, 2010 at 2:50pm

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on October 11, 2010 at 2:52pm

The end: all is well that ends well...

Permalink Reply by Cyndi on October 11, 2010 at 6:39pm

Ellen, thanks so much for showing "everyday" ways that we can work with our horses! I felt like I was on Hubert's journey with him. How exciting to get to the end video! It gives me hope that I can "get there" with Fanny...keeping in mind your advice in another post about enjoying the journey and not being focused on me, my time, or my goals.

I am already visualizing playing with all the horses in the field :o) The Friesian at the farm looks like he'd respond to things just like Hubert!

Permalink Reply by Marlene Thoms on October 11, 2010 at 9:42pm

Thankyou for these videos Ellen. My Arab is spooky with various things and I like to trail ride with him. A lot of it is just getting out there and exposing him to everything. We started by going out with other horses, but I mostly ride alone, so that is a whole different thing for him. Your videos have given me some ideas of how to go about desensitizing him. My big concern is with motorcycles, which periodically turn up on the trail and they are extremely loud with people dressed in full protective gear. Fortunately my son also has a motorcycle, so I have had him running it, and riding it within sight of Sharif's paddock. We did handle one trail meeting well by luck. I was walking him in hand down a rocky part of the trail, and at least had some distance down the trail between us and the bikes when they turned up. I made the riders shut down their motors, and walked Sharif past, and it all worked out. But that was the most he could handle, and it could be pretty wild if the circumstances were different. He also gets pretty nervous when really large trucks or equipment go by on the small stretch of road that I have to follow, but he has stayed under control and on the spot, but he is almost losing it. When scary vehicles are parked, he can get by if I approach and retreat a few times. Similar problem with large garbage bags by the side of the road. I see gradual improvement, but I can see your method would speed this up and make him much safer. Thanks again. The videos are so much better than just an explanation.

Permalink Reply by Ellen Ofstad on October 12, 2010 at 12:57pm

Since your son has a motorbike you can make this a fun game :)
Get your son to drive in the pasture. Take the horse with you in a long leadrope (do NOT pull him with you, it's just to guide him with you in the beginning). Then you start chasing the bike (no, you don't have to run all the time, just move towards it) and then the bike moves away from you. The distance is up to the horse, it doesn't matter if it is a great distance... when you move towards it, it moves away and you have a little party to celebrate your success as a bike-chaser :)

Horses catch on soon to this, and I think he soon will start running with you to chase the bike away. Gradually decrease the distance to the bike, and when the horse gets closer he gets a reward. (like with the lawn mower that Gunnar used - we did it with a bike, too, but the lawn mower was REALLY loud so it was a great challenge.

As the horse understands the game, let him loose and then it's up to him to catch the bike. At that point your son can reward him to. You could sit on the bike and reward him as well.
Same system for a car or a tractor. Don't let the thing come up behind the horse until he is VERY confident about it, if he feels like he is being chased you easily scare him off the thing again. That is the reason I recommend you having him in a lead-rope in the beginning; to control the direction.

If a bike already is a problem thing you should start with other things first just to teach him the fun game. I bet you can find 10 things that you could have someone carry/drag around that you could chase away :)