SCARED STIFF!
I nicknamed him Sparky for his ability to ignite like a roman candle in a fireworks display when he perceived anything to be of danger. The problem was he thought everything was dangerous and scary, worthy of fleeing from! His anxiety to objects was fierce, riddled with a huge lack of self confidence. This 12 year old gelding was like an 800 pound frightened rabbit!
When I first met Sparky he was unable to willingly load onto a trailer, especially with a ramp. Unable to look at a bottle of water, touch a plastic bag, be within ten feet of a ball, and tarps!... well just forget it! He couldn’t stand comfortably in the barn with things hanging on the walls, have anything fall over or have a rope gently tossed upon his back just to name a few. You get the idea; the list goes on and on!
Utilizing only positive reinforcement methods, I started Sparky down a different learning adventure. My initial goal was simple; help him find his confidence and reward for every little try, even if all he could muster up was to look at the thing that scared him. Armed with a pocket of goodies, Sparky became a willing participant in no time at all!
“What the heck is that?” says Sparky.
“Well, maybe just one more look. Does it bite?” he snorted. 
“Hey, it doesn’t bite, but if it falls over or moves, I’m outta here!”, he assures me.
When dealing with a highly fearful horse, bring all your PATIENCE and a sense of HUMOUR to every session. Building long lasting confidence in a horse takes understanding and precision timing but you can shatter self confidence in an instance without it.
The Plastic Monster!
Like many horses, noisy plastic is a very scary thing!
Recognize that scared stiff look?! Sparky is one step away from fleeing.
Right after I touched him with the plastic, I quickly removed the object from his body demonstrating that I was in agreement with this decision he had offered to not leave. Here is where building confidence is essential in helping him succeed.
Utilizing correct timing to release his anxiety produced and much calmer disposition. I then tested for “truth” and dropped the lead rope to allow him to leave if he wanted to. He chose to stay. Hooray!
I would still want to repeat this lesson over as many times as necessary until Sparky is completely confident about noisy plastic bags.
Hint: Try always to keep the rope loose commonly known as a float in the rope. Never pull on the lead rope to force a horse to stay with you. It’s much more effective if you drift with them if they wanted to leave. But if they leave in a terrified hurry, then you have likely overwhelmed the horse. Just back up the task to where the horse can handle the situation with confidence and start again. In the first picture I knew my lead rope was too short if Sparky chose to take a few steps away from me. So I exchanged to a much longer rope for this consideration. Always adjust to fit the situation.
A Session in Trailer Loading
After spending a session with Sparky sending him over an open wooden bridge (about 4 feet wide by 8 feet long) we moved up to the trailer ramp.  He was allowed to sniff that ramp until the next day if he needed to! Turns out though, he only needed about 5 minutes. 
His courageous first step!
P.S. Sparky did paw that ramp for several minutes to ensure that it was safe! And I wholeheartedly let him! It felt like he was shedding all his years of frustration about ramps out in that moment!
Since I allowed him all the time he needed for investigation, he took the next step all by himself! 
We ended our trailer session there with some extra goodies and nibbles of grass. 
Timeline
My sessions with horses can be as few as 10 minutes to an hour or two it all depends upon the horse’s well being and experience. But you can be sure that I include lots and lots of recess! Who doesn’t like recess?!!
Knowing that horse’s live in the “Now”, or in the “Present” moment is a powerful notion to utilize. We can learn a great deal from this message. It occurred to me many years ago that time watching is of no value or consideration to our horses. They just don’t care how long it takes even if we do to! As a result of this realization my conversations and results with horses improved tenfold.
The pivotal moment of improving everything is when our goal becomes how “well” we accomplish communication and tasks set forth, rather then how “fast” we can get them done. This does not mean we need to take forever either. For I know that when people become great teachers for their horses, their horses become astute students and quick learners.
So throw away your watches and instead take notice of every little effort horses make. You will be amazed at how time becomes of no consequence while your training unfolds at incredible speeds. The responsibility lies upon us to become great patient teachers.
I remind myself of my own school experiences where the teachers I learned best from were kind, respectful and patient. Yet the teachers who were overloading me with too much information, homework and expectations were always harder to learn from and I dreaded going to their class!
You will always find your way if you follow your intuition and your horse’s heart.
About Us:
Elaine Polny has for over 25 years been teaching and perpetually researching the many facets of the natural horse world. As a Reiki Master and energy worker she not only deals with the fundamentals of horse care but also encompasses the psychological, spiritual, environmental and all symbiotic relationships directly connecting to the equine way of life and all living creatures. Elaine and David Polny own and operate Horses by Nature located in Ontario, Canada. www.horsesbynature.com |
