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Hi everyone!
So I just recently started working with a disrespectful spooky mare. She is a saddle bred and im not sure how old she is tho(broke to ride and behind a cart). She is hard to catch and if she decides something is scary then she goes into a major hissy fit and bucks and bolts.
I have been doing lots of join up with her to gain trust and I have been brushing her and spending lots of time just catch and release. She is getting better so next I desensitized her to the whip. I can now slap it on the ground as hard as possible next to her and she does nothing. I can also swing the rope end over her whole body and rub her everywhere with it.
The next step was to desinsitize her to plastic. I took a plastic bag and rubbed it all over. She eventually calmed down and seemed fine with it. Then I tied it to the end of the longe whip and brought it close to her. She freaked out and turned circles around me forever. I was holding her with a lead rope to her halter. She just wouldn't stop and so I tied it to part of her halter away from the face. I let her go and she would not stop bucking and bolting around the round pen. I had to stop eventually because I didn't have a whole lot of time left. She took over 20 minutes to cool down and was completely lathered in sweat.
I don't know how else I could go about desensitizing her. Like I said before she is a very flighty mare.
Is there any tips you have for me?
Thanks! SugarPlumLove
So I just recently started working with a disrespectful spooky mare. She is a saddle bred and im not sure how old she is tho(broke to ride and behind a cart). She is hard to catch and if she decides something is scary then she goes into a major hissy fit and bucks and bolts.
I have been doing lots of join up with her to gain trust and I have been brushing her and spending lots of time just catch and release. She is getting better so next I desensitized her to the whip. I can now slap it on the ground as hard as possible next to her and she does nothing. I can also swing the rope end over her whole body and rub her everywhere with it.
The next step was to desinsitize her to plastic. I took a plastic bag and rubbed it all over. She eventually calmed down and seemed fine with it. Then I tied it to the end of the longe whip and brought it close to her. She freaked out and turned circles around me forever. I was holding her with a lead rope to her halter. She just wouldn't stop and so I tied it to part of her halter away from the face. I let her go and she would not stop bucking and bolting around the round pen. I had to stop eventually because I didn't have a whole lot of time left. She took over 20 minutes to cool down and was completely lathered in sweat.
I don't know how else I could go about desensitizing her. Like I said before she is a very flighty mare.
Is there any tips you have for me?
Thanks! SugarPlumLove