Enlightened Equitation
May 25, 2012, 04:14:10 AM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Help Articles Login Register Chat Shop Join EE Events 2012 Free DVD  
Fibre Feeds
Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Overcoming Deepseated Fears  (Read 525 times)
0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.
wetnwindy
Guest
« on: October 31, 2005, 11:10:35 AM »

This is triggered by someone elses thread about a horse not keeping his leg up to be trimmed.

My daughters pony was bought as a 3 y/o from a cattle market a few years ago - she has scars,  mental and physical,  from some very rough treatment.  We still have to VERY  careful and patient with one of her hind legs,  or she drops down onto the floor.  In particluar,  you cannot rest her leg on your leg in order to rasp properly - after a nanosecond she has dropped to the floor - she make a nervous squeak as she does it too.  However,  you can pick out her hoof,  and hold it up as long as you like.  I use a one-handed surform rasp. She is not lame, has nothing wrong her back etc.
 We have spent lots of time getting her used to so many things,  (she wouldn't accept ANY form of human contact at first) and she trusts us,  and is starting to trust some strangers too.  Last year she got a bad injury messing around in the field,   on the inside of her other leg,  and was VERY good about letting the vet sort it out,  and having it dressed daily. Having her off hind held close  seems to be the last ingrained fear she has.  There are lots of scars on this leg, so I guess what ever happened to her was pretty nasty.  She has no objection to being groomed/stroked on that leg, as long as you warn her what you are doing.


Is clicker training  likely to help?  I don't want to traumatise her more - we can cope as it is.
Logged
Vrijheidsdressuur
Guest
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2005, 11:44:26 AM »

I think it's wonderful that you've come this far already, well done! Smiley

When clickertraining or just training a horse to overcome his fears, it's important to always work from the no-problem- to the problem-parts. If you have a horse who is afraid of the trailer and refuses to get in, you start with walking him around the thing - something he isn't scared of, letting him touch it, then asking him to target something and slowly hold the target closer to the ramp until your horse has followed the target into the trailer. In this case you van follow the same approach. As your pony is afraid of getting stuck with her leg around the hoof, you can start teaching her that this isn't a problem by training this on a bodypart that doesn't have problems with this, for example the upper hindleg. It's in fact quite simple: you stroke with both hands from her spine down the hindquarters until you reacht the part where the leg comes out of the body, and in a flowing movement you cup this joint (the knee) with your hands, one hand covering the front of the knee, the other the back. Click and treat. Repeat this untill you're sure the pony is totally relaxed with this, and then follow the same process but go a cm further down the leg while stroking down and cup it there before you click. You repeat this process in millimetres further downwards, in which you always stroken from pelvis down the leg with both hands and then cup the part you want by enclosing it with you hands for a short time before you click. Your hands do not squeeze, they envelop the leg, just as when you place your hands around your upper own leg. When your pony is comfortable with all this, you can rest your hands wrapped around the leg longer on the same place, and finally do this also when the leg is lifted by following the same procedure with one hand while the other one supports the leg.

If you're pony is very traumatized, then this will take some time. Just be patient, supportive and reward the slightest improvement. Also keep in mind that this time you do not click for the reactions of your pony, but for the progress that you yourself make on the leg. When you're patient and your pony trusts you and the clicker, I'm quite sure that you two can work this problem out by using clickertraining.  Smiley

By the way, problemsolving like this is not something you work on immediately when you start using the clicker on your horse! First you teach her neutral things like targetting so that she gets the point and will decide that she likes this training. When instead you'd start tackling grave problems in the first training session, your horse will shut down and decide that the clicker, although it brings food, means trouble, hard work and fearful exercises. Only when she trusts the little plastic thing, its sound and the fact that this helps her during training, you can start working on reducing fear and even then it is important to keep doing positive exercises too.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2005, 11:48:00 AM by Vrijheidsdressuur » Logged
Becky holden
EE Teachers
Hero Member
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 660



« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2005, 10:46:47 AM »

Quote
By the way, problemsolving like this is not something you work on immediately when you start using the clicker on your horse! First you teach her neutral things like targetting so that she gets the point and will decide that she likes this training. When instead you'd start tackling grave problems in the first training session, your horse will shut down and decide that the clicker, although it brings food, means trouble, hard work and fearful exercises

This is a really good point. Also i'd click the clicker in my pocket a couple of time first as the sudden sound can often startle a nervous type.
You say the pony is now fine with you picking out her feet, i would click and treat the things she doesn't mind you doing too. Clicker training will surely build the ponies confidence, but it sounds like you've both done a great job already!

Becky  Smiley  
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  




Graphics by Mandeigh

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.16 | SMF © 2011, Simple Machines
SMFAds for Free Forums
SMF customization services by 2by2host.com
Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!