Understand Your Objective
Importantly, your objective is not to see how quickly you can get your horse past the scary object. It's just the opposite. The longer it takes-10 minutes, 30 minutes-the better, because you are going to end up with a better, more responsive horse. If you have been doing serpentines for 30 minutes while slowly inching closer to the scary chutes, your horse has been through a lot of repetitions of right turn, left turn, speed up, slow down.
When he's doing those serpentines perfectly at the midline of the arena, then scoot him down a foot. When he's perfect there, go one foot closer to that object, sticking with the pattern. When he's perfect there, go another foot closer, and then another.
Pretty soon the horse will be going directly by the object as though it's not there. You have practiced what you wanted to do anyway, while providing incentive for your horse not to find things to spook at. Your horse will be going the speed you want, with the head elevation you want, and you'll be riding him exactly as you want to ride in front of the judge.
If you are on the trail, apply the same principles. Work on basic cues where it is safe, then come closer and closer until you can pass the object safely. Don't get in a hurry and start applying pressure. If you remain calm, consistent, and focused, your horse is not going to worry about whether you're going to get frustrated with him the next time he sees a llama or a scary rock. Not only is he going to be more responsive when you ask him to speed up or slow down, turn this way or that, or put his head down, he also discovers that every time he finds something to be afraid of, he suddenly has to move off and practice a particular maneuver-a lot.
Prep for Final Exams
Repetition of an exercise is not punishment, nor frantic, exhaustive abuse. It should be quiet, pressure-free practice that continues until the horse correctly follows the go-forward cue, no matter what the distraction.
This sort of experience is excellent preparation for those "final exam" situations where we risk getting hurt if our horses don't respond correctly to our cues. If your horse jumps into the road to get away from the curious neighborhood llama that runs toward the fence to greet him, it could be a final exam for you both.
Preparing for the unexpected will help you ride your perfect horse with perfect confidence, knowing you can deal with pretty much any monster that comes his way.
