Handling Bad Habits – Make Desensitizing Your Horse More Effective

Some horses tend to show bad habits.

Once you notice them, immediately determine the cause and correct the bad habits.

Here are some of the horses’ bad habits and how you can handle them properly.

Last update on 2024-09-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Balking occurs when the horse refuses to move forward and shows a bad temper. This habit is curable. Try to review the forward work through longeing and in-hand. Turn the head of your horse to untrack right or left. Don’t pull the rein or exert force because you will lose.

Barn sour/herd bound: The horse rears, balks, screams, and swings around the herd or barn. Like balking, this is also curable. If your horse is stubborn, you may need professional help. Review your lessons concerning ‘whoa’ and ‘go’ just in case your horse is not too stubborn.

Biting—Horses nibble or grab with their teeth or lips, and this is common among young horses. When your horse nips, frequently handle the muzzle, lips, and nostrils and tug on the nose chain. You can also use the thumbtack on the sleeve. Hold the wire brush to the horse’s lips and use the muzzle.

Bolting—Some horses bolt when you turn them loose. This situation is dangerous because the horse often kicks as he bolts away. Before removing the halter, tie a rope around his neck and use ground treats.

Bucking: The horse leaps or kicks with the hind legs, lowers its head, and arches its back. Progressive training is required, and you should check the tack fit. You should also monitor exercise and feeding.

Can’t catch—the horse avoids humans carrying halters or leads. This is curable, but you need to give your horse time. Start training in a small or confined area and move to a larger area as the training progresses. Don’t punish your horse when it can’t keep up with the training.

Halter pulling – rears when being tied. This is another dangerous situation and, in some cases, incurable. You must seek the help of a professional at once.

Kicking—Kicking a person with the hind legs is dangerous and requires professional assistance. Remedial methods to restrain the horse are usually employed. You can’t completely cure this problem.

Rearing: The horse stands on its hind legs and sometimes falls backward. Check for any back or mouth problems—review training on longeing and forward in-hand. If nothing happens, get professional help.

Striking: The horse uses its front legs by swiping. If your horse rears simultaneously, you should be careful because you might be struck on the head. Try head handling techniques (ears, mouth, and nostrils), head down lessons, sacking out, and body handling.

Shying is spooking at imagined and real sounds, sights, occurrences, and smells. This habit is generally curable. Control your horse’s movements with restraining aids and driving.

Stumbling – the horse loses balance and falls. This is another curable habit. You must assess hoof balance, condition your horse properly, check the break-over, and ride your horse with additional weight.

The tail wringing occurs when the horse rotates or switches its tail angrily. If your horse gets used to this habit, it may no longer be curable. Correct it by properly fitting the saddle, massage, rider lessons, and medical therapy.

Make the training progressive and set achievable demands.

How to Make Desensitizing Your Horse More Effective

You can take several steps to make desensitizing your horse more effective.

These include making the plastic bag look intimidating, timing, and positive reinforcement.

These tips will make desensitizing your horse much faster and easier. You can also use these steps with foals.

Desensitize Your Horse With Plastic Bag Training

There are many ways to desensitize your horse, each with unique benefits.

Desensitizing training reduces the horse’s sensitivity to the stimulus while building a stronger bond between the horse and rider.

One good way to desensitize your horse is to use a plastic bag.

One way to desensitize your horse to plastic bags is to introduce them into the horse’s environment gradually.

Begin by showing your horse the plastic bag and slowly bringing it under the threshold. Once your horse is comfortable with it, lead him to it.

Another way to desensitize your horse to the plastic bag is to make it more frightening. Horses are naturally frightened of loud noises and fast objects.

By waving the plastic bag in front of your horse or touching it directly to its body, you can create a stimulus that will cause your horse to stay calm.

It’s important to note that this process is ongoing, so if you notice any setbacks, don’t panic and go back to what you know.

Be consistent in your approach, and make sure your horse understands it’s okay to feel a little frightened.

This will keep the whole thing on an even keel and prevent unpleasant surprises for you and your horse.

Another way to make the plastic bag more intimidating is to tie it to a whip.

A whip is more intimidating to a horse than a plastic bag, so it will be more effective in making the horse more obedient. You can also use a tarp instead of a plastic bag.

Follow the horse’s body movement and focus on the areas where he is most vulnerable.

Last update on 2024-09-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Avoiding Horse Overstress

When desensitizing your horse, it is important not to overstress the animal. Horses are prey animals and can become aggressive if they feel threatened.

This can make them difficult to ride or handle. If the horse gets frightened too quickly, it may be unsafe for you and the horse to be around.

Desensitizing a horse involves touching different objects on its body. You can use objects such as grocery bags, garbage bags, tarps, paper maps, and noises such as fireworks.

The idea is to slowly expose the horse to noises so it does not react unexpectedly.

It is important to choose a specific moment when to press the horse. Deciding what kind of pressure will be appropriate is the first step in the training process.

Once you know which type of behavior you want from your horse, you can use pressure and release techniques to encourage it.

When desensitizing your horse, it is important to remember that it does not choose to develop stereotypical behavior. Its behavior results from the pressures it receives in its environment.

Therefore, attempting to change the behavior by punishing your horse will not work. Punishment and stress both lead to unwanted behaviors.

If you are having trouble desensitizing your horse, you can try some proven methods that have been studied for several decades.

One of these methods is called habituation. It involves gradually exposing your horse to transport vehicles. Initially, small journeys are undertaken on the property and then gradually extended.

Once your horse is habituated to these situations, he will eventually become accustomed to the pressure and less likely to resist.

Last update on 2024-09-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Horse Training – Timing

Desensitizing your horse involves introducing him to increasingly uncomfortable situations and praising him when he responds positively.

This helps to strengthen the bond between you and your horse. Timing is essential to making desensitization more effective.

It is important to avoid rushing when desensitizing your horse. Give your horse ample time to relax and think before introducing new stimuli.

Do not force the process; instead, set small goals you can achieve over a longer period.

Desensitizing your horse is more effective when you start the process early and gradually increase the level of arousal.

You can start by exposing your horse to a small scary object, such as a fly, before exposing it to larger objects.

If the horse does not react, you can gradually move closer and gradually remove the object from the horse.

However, it would help to be careful when introducing a scary stimulus since an unpleasant stimulus can poison a seemingly pleasant process.

It is essential to keep the level of the fear stimulus below the threshold.

Providing a positive alternative behavior during a stressful event will help your horse associate the feared stimulus with a rewarding experience.

Counter-conditioning can be very effective, but it requires patience and time to work with your horse.

Desensitizing your horse’s legs is more effective if your horse is confident.

Ensure your horse can stand still and not kick when the string is wrapped around its legs.

Otherwise, your horse might become mentally disengaged. Your horse will not be able to learn if it is not alert and responsive.

Giving Your Horse Positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is an effective tool for desensitizing your horse. It involves rewarding your horse whenever he calms down while approaching an object.

This encourages your horse to approach unfamiliar objects. Positive reinforcement also reduces the risk of triggering a fear response.

Positive reinforcement is also effective for teaching your horse new cues. For example, give your horse chocolate after he responds positively to a wasp sting.

The chocolate will have a different effect on your horse. You may notice a slight bumpy trot or a hesitation to respond positively when he’s offered a treat.

Another technique for desensitizing your horse is counter-conditioning. This technique helps your horse avoid unpleasant stimuli by providing distractions.

It can also be used to counter-condition your horse to fear farriers.

If you can successfully counter-condition a horse to avoid unwanted stimuli, you can reduce his fear of farriers and other horse-related events.

In addition to using positive reinforcement to desensitize your horse, you can also use negative punishment to reduce unwanted behavior.

This method works best to minimize the frequency of undesirable behavior. If the association between the negative stimulus and the reward is strong, this method will lower the chances of repetition.

This method is also more effective in cases where the horse does not understand the behavior’s end requirement.

Counter-conditioning is a powerful tool for desensitizing your horse, but it must be combined with positive reinforcement to be effective.

While petting and scratching can work, these methods cannot overcome all negatives. Counter-conditioning requires patience and must be done at the horse’s pace.