Double Dan’s - Desensitisation

As seen in the October 2018 edition of Horse Deals Magazine

Desensitisation can be a great way to not only help a spooky horse become braver but also a great way to build confidence in young horses. You can desensitise horses to many different objects for example a tarp, stockwhip, flag or a rope. In this article we have chosen a typical blue tarp as this one object covers a wide range of different desensitise simulations. We will take you through our process of introducing the blue tarp safely and confidently to your horse.

Travelling over the tarp
Firstly, we are going to get the horse to travel over the tarp whilst it is on the ground. We start with the tarp narrow and long and we will position it at a right angle to the fence with a sizable gap between the tarp and the fence to allow the horse to travel between the fence and the tarp. Using a driving whip, we will drive the horse out on to the circle whilst we stand on the far corner edge of the tarp. This is to prevent the horse from spooking and running between the tarp and myself therefore potentially running me over. By us standing on the corner of the tarp, if the horse stops and shy’s away from the tarp it will be travelling away from us keeping us in a safe position. I will use my whip to drive the horse between the fence and the tarp on a lunge circle and I will continue this process in both directions until the horse is moving freely between the gap in a relatively relaxed manner. Once we achieve this, we will start narrowing the gap between the fence and the tarp gradually building the horses confidence to track over the top of the tarp. Each time the horse is confident going between the adjusted size we will continue to move it in until the tarp is touching the fence. As the tarp is narrow the horse may jump it but this is not a problem as long as the horse is moving forwards to the direction of the circle. Once we achieve the tarp to the fence the next phase is opening the tarp larger. This is the same process as before to take gradual steps unfolding the tarp larger as the horse builds confidence until we have folded the tarp out to its full width and traveling both directions relaxed.

Standing on the tarp
Now my objective is to allow the horse to stop and find relaxation on the tarp. To do this, as my horse is approaching the tarp I will change my position to slightly in front of the horses’ eye to change the horses angle towards the fence. This encourages the horse to stop on the tarp and I can then lower the driving whip once the horse approaches it. If he doesn’t seize the opportunity to stop on the tarp I will drive him back to the tarp and increase the angle towards the fence until I successfully stop my horse on the tarp in both directions. As the horse stops on the tarp allow him to stand on the tarp for a longer period of time and he will eventually look to want to stand on the tarp as a sanction or release of pressure. Once you have achieved this then you are up to the next phase.

Rubbing the tarp over the horse
The next phase in this desensitisation process is rubbing the tarp on the horse. This will simulate a saddle cloth or the process of rugging or un-rugging your horse. If your horse has already been rugged or ridden this part of the desensitisation process shouldn’t be a worry for you or the horse but it is always a good idea to still go through the steps to check. The first step is to scrunch the tarp into a small ball so it can fit into one hand. Once you have the tarp small then rub it over the horses’ body whilst he is standing until he is finding relaxation. When the horse is accepting the tarp in a small ball, slowly start to open the tarp whilst continuing to rub it along the horses’ body. When you have opened the tarp up and start to have the tarp laying over the horses back you may find the horse might spook at the tarp being on the other side of his body, if this happens immediately pull the tarp back towards your body. This will ensure that the horse will step or shy away from you and the tarp to ensure that you are safe. This process is to be completed both sides of the horse and to ensure that he has found relaxation in this process. The final objective is to be able to have the tarp sitting over the horses’ body as if where to be a rug whilst the horse is standing in a relaxed manner.

We hope you find as much success with this desensitisation process as what we do. Happy horse training.

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