Star....10/12/10

10/12/10

Well, we'll call it a ride.....with the wind blowing as much as it did today, Star had her right brained thing going on...

We have to remember that a horse is a prey animal, so all movement means something to them.  If the grass is moving, it could mean something is coming.  Not just to hurt them, but to kill them and then eat them.  This is the prey animal instinct.  It is true in all horses, just way more evident in right brained horses.  So with her being so twitchy, I decided some "on the ground slow down" was needed.  Meaning groundwork.

Use my stick and string, played several of the games with her.  One of the last things we worked on was a squeeze game.  Horses are claustrophobic, they don't like to be trapped or contained.  Star is normal, she doesn't like to think she might be trapped.  A little background on Star....When her owners picked her up the last time, she did not want to get in the trailer. (it was even a open, big nice one).  We spent 45 minutes to an hour just letting her find her way into the trailer.  She eventually loaded, but was still very nervous.  During the squeeze game today, I would stand 6-8 feet from a fence, then direct and drive her through the hole between me and the fence.  When we started out, she was rushing through the hole as fast as she could.  So we kept doing it until she would at least walk through it.  She was still nervous about it, so I then asked her to stop in the hole.  She didn't like that at all, but she was willing.  While she was stopped in the hole, I spent some time rubbing her all over with my stick and string (desensitizing).  After we got good at that, I move over to our walk through stocks and just asked her to put her head in it.  Once she was ok with just her head, I asked for one foot at a time until she was all the way in.  The first time, she just rushed through.  That was ok, she got brave enough to go into it.  We worked this from both sides a bunch of times and she got to the point she trusted me enough, that she was willing to stand in it.  Again, I spent the time desensitizing her.  It needed to be a pleasant experience for her to want to do it again.  We went in and out several more times and we ended the day on a good note.

Do I think she is completely over being a claustrophobic?  NO.  Do I think she will have trouble if I ask her to do this tomorrow?  Yes.  But with time and patience, I believe she will get to the point she will tolerate it....maybe even like it. 

How many times have we seen a horse that won't load, or won't go in the arena.  Same concept, everytime they go in, it isn't a pleasant experience.  Whether it is a tiny trailer, our driving or they are scared of something in the arena....it needs to be a pleasant experience.  Take the time it takes now, so it doesn't take as long next time.