Desensitizing the "Quirky" Horse

go with a talented but temperamental horse knowing that compromises such as avoiding tying or crossties not jumping using scissors or tranquilizers for clipping and mane pulling not showing in certain environments i e. coliseums wet footing or waiting to use the practice ring in the quiet wee hours of the morning might be necessary. Though inconvenient this rider might decide he could still accomplish most of his goals working with a high maintenance horse.
Habituation
If youre bent on investing in your mare youll need to habituate her to all her phobias and more. Habituation is the process of systematically desensitizing a horse to a stimulus by introducing it at a level that causes some stress but withdrawing it before it triggers her flight response. Lets take a closer look at some of these key words.
Systematically With any cue I always start at level one on a scale of one to ten. For example I dont come right at the horses ear with the clippers but start at the shoulder. I slide my leg back smoothly and slowly to ask for a canter transition rather than alarming the horse with a kick behind the girth. When the show arena is open for practice I begin my warmup by tuning up the controls lateral work transitions small circles etc. in the centre of the ring before venturing toward the rail grandstands banners and traffic flow.
Western trainers use the term sacking out to describe exposure to something unfamiliar with a repetitive tempo.
Withdrawing As with all training you must make the decisions not your horse. This requires that you make the decision to withdraw the stimulus before the horse withdraws from it.
When loading a hesitant horse onto the trailer I make the decision to stop before she does. I may even back her up