Pause for a minute in silence to notice all the noises around you that typically you don't give much attention. It may be the rhythmic sound of the clock on the wall, the hum of the refrigerator, the traffic out your window, your kid's blaring music, or the rumbles of your snoring husband on the coach. Likely, their presence is no longer noticeable to your mind because you have become desensitized to them. It is as if the sounds are no longer there - well, maybe with the exception of the blaring rock music and snoring husband. If only those could be so easily ignored.
A similar process can occur with our horses. In fact, one of the qualities that sets the horse apart from other domestic animals is their ability to desensitize so rapidly. The horse can habituate to sounds, sensations and objects that once caused them great fright, as long as those things do not hurt them.
Since I addressed sensitization last week, this week's exercises will focus on expanding our desensitization skills. Click Here to read last week's article, Controlling Movement Part II. So that we may have a horse that is in balance, I recommend alternating between sensitizing and desensitizing exercises when you work with your horse.
Before I jump into this week's desensitization exercises, I want to readdress some ideas that will help keep your relationship with your horse thriving and strong. Not unlike our interactions with people, it is important to balance the relationship between being and doing. If your time with your horse becomes overrun with "doing" tasks and activities, you may find that your horse loses enthusiasm for your arrival.
As you are learning to do these new exercises with your horse, I encourage you to nurture the "being" part of your relationship, as well. Regardless of how far along you or your horse are in your skills and abilities, placing importance on spend undemanding time together is a true gift that will keep the relationship alive and well.
This week's desensitization exercises will focus on building your horse's confidence around faster-moving, more intense forms of pressure, utilizing your stick and string. This will prepare your horse to be desensitized to more advanced stimuli, such as plastic and flags. The ultimate goal in desensitization is for the horse to be able to maintain the same relaxed posture and demeanor whether an object or stimulus is present or not.
Carefully consider the following ideas, as these suggestions will help you be successful in the following desensitization exercises.
Before moving onto these stage 2 exercises, be sure that your horse can confidently allow you to touch him all over his body with the stick and string as described in Controlling Movement (Part I). Give some extra time to swinging the lead rope and string around your horse's hind legs and rump, as this tends to be a place most horse's lack confidence. Be sure your horse trusts the presence of the stick and string in this particular region, before moving on to the hindquarter exercise of this week.
A horse that is frightened by something will often go into physical motion (this comes from their instinct for flight). In the following exercises, the instinct to flee may be seen as the horse wanting to nervously walk or trot around in a circle at the end of the lead rope.
Sometimes the horse does not deem physical flight necessary and will instead stand in place, but be physically very tight. This horse will hold its head very high, be straight and tense in all four legs, may not blink, have tight lips, tense muscles and may snort through their nostrils. In this scenario, although the horse may not be physically in flight, they are thinking flight and therefore it is important to not release pressure until the horse has relaxed and accepted the presence of the object or stimulus.
It is very important you notice the physical changes in your horse while they are emotionally "letting down," as these are indicators of his emotional state and will guide you in determining when to time your release.
Signs of relaxation in a horse can be cocking a hind foot, lowering of the head, sighing, softly blinking, or licking and chewing. One of the best indicators that a horse is no longer thinking flight is when they lick and chew, as this is a telling sign that they are accessing the thinking side of their brain.
The size of my horse's reaction to a given stimulus will influence how far I want to see my horse let down and relax before releasing the pressure. For example, if the first time I try a certain stimulus my horse attempts to run away, I will maintain that stimulus until the horse can stand still and let down to the extent where he licks and chews. Only then, once he has fully let down, will I release. As your horse progresses in these exercises, his reaction will become less and less, until ultimately there is no reaction at all - this is the ultimate goal of desensitization. If my horse just slightly raises his head when I begin the stimulus, I will wait until he can lower his head back to a relaxed position for which I will release the pressure.
Keep in mind that when desensitizing, it is possible to do too few repetitions (i.e. stopping when the horse is still thinking flight), but not to do too many. If in doubt, maintain the motion until you get a conclusive sign from your horse that they have relaxed. I know as well as anyone that the following exercises can become fatiguing to the arms. Try to push through your tired arms and instead of quitting, encourage yourself with the reminder that desensitizing your horse is far cheaper than a gym membership! Just think, "Toned arms and a confident, calm horse." What a deal!
