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July 30th, 2015
A favorite pastime of mine, when I have the time, is riding my Quarter Horse “Sky”. There are a lot of things many people don’t realize that are vital to safety with horses. A lot of the things I now know, I recently learned by owning a horse after many, many years of not having one. I learned from the lady where I had my horse stabled.
When I owned horses on our family farm growing up, my basic mentality was “put a saddle on it, put a bit in its mouth, kick it to make it go and choke it to make it stop!” Pretty basic thought process. Little did I know, there was so much more to know about horses. All horses have different personalities, traits and characteristics. Just like each and every human. Some are calm and carefree and others can be high-strung and anxious. Sky can be a huge combination of calm, carefree, high-strung and anxious! So I have many challenges that are exciting with her. But, if you know your horse’s mentality, you can achieve a terrific relationship.
One of the most important pieces of knowledge you can gain is accepting and respecting the fact that ANY horse can overpower you. Certain situations and circumstances can alter the mood and temperament of the animal. There are steps to take in maintaining and assuring you aren’t out of control of this 1,500 pound animal! But you also need to be aware of when it’s best to walk away and surrender for the day. After all, horses, like humans, get moody and have bad days.
Safety is the number one key for me. When I was younger, I had no fear that I’d ever get thrown or hurt by a horse. When I was probably 14 years old and throughout my high school years, me and my best friend from high school would saddle up her uncle’s horse and ride double from sun up to sun down through woods, hills, creeks, rocks…virtually anywhere we could get the animal to go. We never thought of situations that would or could put us in harm’s way. Now that I’m older (and not so brave), I have a lot more respect and knowledge of how numerous things can trigger a horse’s mood.
With that said, one area to help with safety while riding a horse is to make sure your horse is “desensitized”. This basically means helping your horse understand that unexplained or unexpected noises, situations or objects will not hurt them. My horse, for instance, is pretty well desensitized. She doesn’t startle easily. I work with her to maintain this, and any horse owner should continually work on this area with their horse. She can be the sweetest, calmest horse and then boom - a door slams or there’s an object she sees that she’s not familiar with and everything can change in an instant. However, because I work to keep her desensitized, I am rarely in that type of situation with her. But, if I hadn’t worked with her, that peaceful moment could turn to pure chaos and potential harm. Helping a horse understand that the unexpected or unusual don’t always pose a threat is vital for everyone’s safety.
Desensitizing Sky is takes a lot of ground work in a round pen or arena (I am not riding her but rather standing in an area with her and asking her to do things while holding onto a lead rope attached to her halter). One training tool I have used is a hoola hoop that has beads through it. I would shake it over her neck, under her stomach, through her legs and bounced it on all parts of her body. If she acts afraid or reacts in a frightened way, I look away from her, keep a firm grip on my lead rope and basically force her to realize the hoola hoop is not going to harm her. It’s amazing how quickly she calms down and understands. Another tool I use is a good ‘ole Walmart plastic bag and a stick. I tie the bag to the end of the stick and shake it like crazy around her! If she goes crazy, I keep ahold of her, look away and continually shake that stick until she sees it’s not going to hurt her. I have also placed tarps on the ground and walked her over them. The first time I ever did this, she bucked and ran like she’d been shot! But consistency is the key. I picked up the tarp, threw it over her back, shook it around her legs and over her head until, again, she realized it wasn’t going to hurt her. Eventually, she calmed down and walked right over it. Then I jumped in the saddle and made her walk on the tarp while riding her.
Besides various noises, horses can be alarmed by objects and unusual sites, so I also practice walking her through narrow doorways, from areas that are light into dark (and vice versa), across rocks, bridges and areas that have shadows. My horse is particularly funny when she sees a shadow or a little puddle of water. She’s very apprehensive at times to approach them. But because I have worked to assure her that odd and abnormal things will not hurt her, with a little comfort, petting and calm vocal reassurances, she walks through them instead of freaking out and potentially throwing me or jumping and hurting herself.
There are numerous other methods to desensitize a horse, and it’s very important to do so to ensure you and the horse are safe. You never know when a dog is going to unexpectedly run up and bark, someone will start a lawn mower or a door will be slammed. If your horse isn’t desensitized to noises and sights, they can rare, buck, lose their footing and you and the horse can be seriously injured. Although a hoola hoop, Walmart bag and tarp make somewhat different noises and look differently, it helps my horse understand the various noises and objects she encounters will not hurt her. If I take her on a trail ride through the woods and a deer steps on a stick, the cracking noise won’t startle her because she’s accustomed to these types of sounds. I literally have ridden her along the road and had someone coming up from behind us in a vehicle blow their horn as they passed us (please don’t ever do this if you encounter someone on the road riding a horse!) Because of my consistency in working on desensitizing her with anything I can imagine up, she may raise her head or tilt an ear, but she’s usually unaffected.
If I neglect to use these tactics for desensitizing my horse on a regular basis, I am only putting myself and her at risk every time I take her for a ride.
