05/30/2025
Common misconception: desensitizing a horse is all about teaching them not to be afraid.
You cannot train fear out of a horse. You are fighting a losing battle against tens of thousands of years of prey instincts. Instinct will win that fight. No matter how many objects you expose your horse to, there will be something out there that scares him, usually when you least expect it.
So, what's the point?
Desensitizing isn't about the object or the movement or the sound or anything else you use to train your horse. The point of desensitizing is to teach your horse how to handle their fear when they encounter a scary object or situation. Notice I said "when," not "if."
In this case, my object of choice is a tarp. Midnight is a lovely thoroughbred mare that lacks a lot of confidence. She tends to be a little spooky and reactive. Here she is learning how to manage her fear in a stressful situation. I will walk you through each part of the video.
1. Showing the Way
I begin with teaching Midnight the direction I want her to go. She attempts to go backwards and sideways, any way except forward to the tarp. I gently correct her when she goes the wrong way and reward her by releasing pressure when she chooses the correct way (forward toward the tarp)
2. Rewarding the Try
Once Midnight understands the correct direction and that I want her going to the tarp, I continue to reward her by releasing pressure when she shows even the slightest effort of looking at, investigating, and even touching the tarp. Through this, she begins to redirect her thought process: the tarp equals reward and rest, not a horse eating death trap.
3. Opening the Door
From here, Midnight is beginning to affiliate the tarp with reward. She is still afraid of it, but her mind is being redirected slowly but surely away from that fear response. This is when I "open the door" and give her more room to move. I continue to encourage the forward movement in the direction of the tarp, but I allow her a space to go around it at close quarters so that she better understands the motion (forward) I am looking for. As she passed the tarp, she begins to understand that nothing bad is happening to her and she is able to calm herself into a state more suitable for thinking and processing (visible with licking and chewing).
4. Closing the Door
From here, now that she is in a calm and thoughtful state, I can close the gap between me and the tarp to redirect her over it, first over the corner before finally crossing from one side to the other with no panic. If you watch closely, after she crosses the tarp she spooks a bit at the drag marks in the dust; however, instead of flying backwards like she first did with the tarp, she bends down to sniff and investigate. This is a sign that she has learned to handle her fear rather than simply react. Goal accomplished!
The entire process took about 30-45 minutes including reversing Midnight and repeating the process (albeit more quickly) the other direction.
