The reason we work on desensitizing horses in early lessons is simple: it helps to build confidence in the horse, as well as trust, as you nurture them through any fears you flush out. Here, I've moved on from rope desensitization to PLASTIC. It's amazing how many horses fear plastic and if you can desensitize them to plastic bags, the confidence they build there, overcoming that fear, translates over to many other objects and issues around them. In the picture to the left, I've just brought out of my pocket a small plastic bag, and the second Belle heard it "crinkle" in my hand, look how high her head shoots up! No question in anyone's mind that she's a Thoroughbred there! Just look at that long neck! As pretty as that stretch looks, that is NOT the posture of a relaxed horse, but a suddenly frightened, on "high alert" horse.

     Once I've established the degree of fear I'm going to be dealing with there regarding the plastic (the high head shoot-up was enough to tell me), I quickly lower my stature, help Belle to yield her neck to the ground and let her check out and smell the plastic from the ground. A lowered head is a more relaxed horse, and my own lowered body language lets her know there's nothing to be afraid of there. But that's just the beginning.

Next, I begin to rub Belle's face with the plastic bag, making it a tool of pleasure so that she can get used to it, but on her terms. I rub all the spots I filed away earlier as her favorite spots. If she were afraid of even this step, I would make the bag smaller in my hand, imperceptibly small if I have to, and only allow it to open slowly at a rate she could handle as I rub. But she's doing okay here so far, so I continue with the bag fully open and nice and crinkly sounding so she gets accustomed to the sound, as well. Note my body posture. I'm looking down, soft body, and soft eyes, so that she knows I'm not really asking anything of her other than, "just enjoy the stroking." This route turns a scary object into an object of pleasure to help desensitize the horse to it.

 It is so crucial to desensitize horses to plastic because we all know how much plastic is out there and if you're ever on a trail, riding your horse, and a plastic bag blows by when they've NOT been desensitized to it, it could very easily spell disaster. Here, to the right, I'm rubbing Belle's right eye (remember, her most favorite spot she told me earlier!). Be careful when rubbing the eye area with the plastic, to only stroke downward with it, closing the eyelid first, so that you never scratch the actual eyeball! Belle is slowly melting here, enjoying it. Ahhh... that's the spot, she's telling me. If she leans into it, asking for more, I like to retreat to another spot, leaving her wanting more. Always, when working with horses, leave them wanting more, and you get further along with them, faster, too.

I slowly switch to rubbing other spots exploringly, and I had just tried rubbing under Belle's chin/neck. As you can see from her body language here (ears pinned back), this was suddenly not welcomed, felt too vulnerable to her, so I stop and quickly return to where she was comfortable earlier and bond on her to again relax her. It's very important when desensitizing a horse to ANYTHING, never to push past their "threshold" point, but instead, return quickly to where they were comfortable. Then you can dart quick rubs over the threshold point as you go along, but quickly return to the "safe places," before they've even had a chance to really register that you've been in the more sensitive spots. Before long, that route, they are desensitized even in those earlier-not-welcomed spots. Learn to perceive their threshold before they do, get your intuition tuned in, timing that refined, that quick, and retreat before they've reacted, not after.  It's a dance, and one of sensitivity and compassion, and one where you must stay respectful of the horse and her ongoing threshold and never force yourself over it prolongingly, and you'll get there faster.

 Belle is relaxing more and more with the plastic. Her eyes are closing; it feels good! Here I'm working with touching the plastic to her ear and then retreating quickly. Ears sometimes can be their most sensitive spots to work the plastic over (because it's noisy!), so ease into it slowly, but then brush over the ear quickly and return to the more acceptable spots before the horse has a chance to react. If you do this "dance" in this manner, often enough, the ears get desensitized, and eventually you can remain there longer and longer, going all the way inside the ear and it is welcomed; and this acceptance of the plastic in their ear can often help later with ear clipping issues. They will be far less sensitive to "noisy things" there from then on.

Belle is doing well here now, so I'm working simultaneously to encourage her to drop her head at the same time. If a horse can be rubbed with plastic all around their face, eyes, ears, nose, and chin, with their head down and relaxed, you're there!

 Here Belle is clearly relaxed, her head is lower, and she's showing me "I'm cool." Time to move to the next step with further desensitizing her to plastic.

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