Desensitization is the name of the Game!

No matter a horse’s past, it will always be fearful of certain objects and/or places. Horses are prey animals; thus, their natural instincts lead them to be wary of new or frightening things. A horse’s fight-or-flight mechanism nearly always leads it to flight.

However, throughout history, horses have been used in numerous “scary” situations in which they are able to overcome instinct for the love of their rider. Think of the cavalry horses who charged into enemy lines, the carriage horses who spent their days in crowded cities, the police horses who bore their riders through all sorts of dangers.

How can I possibly get my horse to be bombproof like that?

Good question! The answer is simple, but not easy.

Desensitization is a technique that will become your best friend in the process of bombproofing your horse. This technique consists of exposing your horse to strange, colorful, noisy things repetitively over time so that eventually they are no longer “scary.” Here are a few tips to get you started:

The more often the better.
- Make an effort to expose your horse to something new on every occasion possible. However, this can be a difficult resolution to maintain. Set this as your goal, but begin with less. Maybe try to expose your horse to a new object or environment once a week to start.
Use anything and everything.
- Challenge your horse’s senses - especially sight, hearing, and touch.
- Sight:
  - Expose your horse to colorful things; for some reason colors can be scary, terrifying even.
  - Also, let your horse get used to things that blow, flap, wave, roll, etc. Moving things can also be absolutely terrifying.
  - Some props to consider - pool noodles, colorful paper, colored streamers, dodge balls, flags…the list goes on.
- Hearing:
  - Horse often do not like things that crinkle, bang, or knock. They often hate loud or unexpected noises.
  - Some props to consider - plastic tarp, opening and closing an umbrella, knocking the wall or rail as you ride, scratching or knocking your helmet, whip cracking, gate banging, music of varying volumes…be creative, there is so much more!
- Touch:
  - Because a horse has certain blind zones, it relies heavily on tactile sensations. The more weird things a horse gets used to feeling, the batter.
  - Touch any and all parts of the horse with your props, hang something over its neck, put something on its back, rub the prop on its legs, etc.
  - Some props to consider - blankets, hula-hoops (for over the neck), and pretty much any of the props mentioned above; touch your horse with them and see how they do.
Take it slow. Remember: BE PATIENT!
- Your horse will not become bombproof overnight - desensitization takes time, lots of time. Work on things slowly; don’t rush or you might just traumatize your horse.
- Remember, these things are really scary to them. Only by repeated exposure will they begin to realize that your props won’t hurt or attack them.
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew. And for that matter, know your horse. Let them gain confidence by working with things that don’t scare them before working with things that do. Don’t ask too much of them all at once.
- Never, never, never get impatient with your horse or yourself! Relax. Breathe. Take your time.