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Desensitizing Joy to the whip

2K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  Peppy Barrel Racing 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok so me and joy we weren't exactly clicking mentally which was my fault. But I feel improvements everyday in that department. Joy is anxious when we train and I was unconsciously anxious around her as well. I have had a hard time relaxing around her as she's hurt me a few times over the years we had out up's and downs. For those of you who don't know I just started working with her for about the last month or so. She's been a pasture ornament for about 2 1/2 years while I busy with my biology undergrad. Anyways I've started to record myself to improve and to watch our body language and also to check myself to see if I'm rushing her. When it comes to training I love to learn new things and always love to improve myself. So I'm going to post a video this is not the whole session before this I messed with her and the whip just tapping on the ground to the side of me making no big deal out of it then I'd rub her with it shortly then retreat and repeat. I slowly increased the rub time as she relaxed more. Eventually I got her to cock a foot and quit swishing mostly so we stopped and took a break and this video is after that break. Anyways I'd love to hear your constructive criticism and polite suggestions please more desensitizing tips and anxiety reducing exercise I'd love to hear them. I'm in no way a master trainer and I find myself in a little unfamiliar territory with joy as she is so anxious and I'm basically restarting a 10 year old horse. After we did the desensitizing I lunged her for a few minutes then saddled up and rode for a short bit. She's been good and hasn't been protesting going forward and still handles to the lightest touch so its coming along. Hasn't been any bucking or rearing lately so there's progress. I also want to thank those who have been helping with thier great advice it has really helped me work through this challenge. Thanks guys!

Link:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/...A6-BED5-E3051DF2C9A8-671-00000089483A9B6B.mp4
 
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#3 ·
I know I was so proud of her yesterday she didn't completely quit the tail swish but she did relax and rest a foot so I was very pleased with the progress she made in a day.
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#4 ·
I was even more pleased with YOUR progress. Like I said, very nicely done!

BTW some mares tail swish. There was a famous high level dressage horse (died young after a paddock accident) who would always swish her tail while working. She was not being resistant.. it was just something she did. The judges placed her well (in Germany) as they recognized it as her expressiveness, not resistant (like tail wringing).

Your horse may always swish her tail and it may just be her. She was standing there with a hind foot cocked and totally relaxed and her swishing did not give me the impression she was bothered in the least.
 
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#5 ·
Why thank you elana. I think I was psyching myself out and over complicating the situation. I swear I've been training horses for years lol. I seriously kinda gave myself a pep talk lol. Basically I told myself to treat her the same way I treat my other horses. I swear I was more worried about training her then training someone's unbroken 3 year old. Kinda makes me feel silly. And I think you are right about the tail swishing she is an expressive horse and she really is a sweetheart and so intelligent. But basically went back to what I know that helped a lot.
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#9 ·
Thank you. This is a big improvement for us both. To get her to finally relax a foot felt pretty good.
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#10 ·
Great job! To me it looks like now you and your mare are speaking the same language. Sometimes when you're around some really mellow horses for awhile, it's like you've only been speaking to a person who is hard of hearing. You get used to speaking at a certain level, and then you go talk to someone who can hear well and they think you are shouting at them.

It's so good that you're looking at your mare now as an individual and not just applying the same things to her that worked with your geldings. Horses are all individuals, and it's easy to forget that. Good horsemen will adjust for each horse's personality and get a lot more accomplished.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Yes I believe your right to her I was shouting at her but I think I have her figured pretty well now. But I definitely wasn't going to give up till we understood each other. Filming has really helped me pick up her type of communication and I can make sure my body language is correct too. Im bad about over thinking things so that was putting a bit of a block on our communication as well. Definitely been playing with mellow horses for the past couple of years but that's on purpose. I choose mellow horses when I go buy one occasionally, I enjoy starting one myself that way I can train them the way I like. A more mellow type of horse is easier for me to start and puts better odds as far as my safety. I have a herniated disk in my neck so I try to reduce my chances of hitting the dirt as a person can do that sometimes its the mellow one that get you cause it isn't as expected :). At least with Joy it's not a shocker if she crow hops ( gotta be light with the legs and hands a little pressure goes a long way with her.) But anyways already hurt all the time so I'd rather not make it worse so I'm a lot more cautious on what I ride anymore. Pretty sure this was one of the bigger causes of anxiety with her. But because I work with my horses and ride fairly often it has kept me from losing muscle strength in my arms and upper body which happens to a lot of people when they have this problem so its therapeutic in many ways for me. When I get my strength tests I always get wow your really strong for someone with your condition.
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#12 ·
I know this has nothing to do with training but reconnecting with Joy has meant a lot to me. Feels pretty nostalgic from when i was doing halter showing as a teenager. And I thought I had lost all of my pictures of her when she was a weanling. And today I was helping my mom clean and in a box underneath her bed a little Joy picture! I couldn't believe it. This is at our first halter show together. I had just gotten her I was so excited. And I had seriously had her off the trailer for ten minutes and some people who showed palomino's on a proffesional level wanted to buy her on the spot. I waited 6 long months to take her home and some people were already trying to take her away lol. Glad my mother said no. They had some of the most gorgeous palomino's though I was glad I didn't have to go against them. Anyways Joy won first in her group at her first show I was so excited I had never won before.

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