Horse Problem - Spooky Horse - Horse spooks at things in saddle - how to desensitize spooky horse (Contd.)

(Continued)

Once the horse is okay with that, I move onto the next step: I stop our movement, face the horse, but make no eye-to-eye contact. Eye-to-eye contact is a pressure to a horse and tells him sometimes that you want something of them, or...you want them to do something. But...in this next step, I'm not asking anything of the horse, don't need him to do anything really, so I make no eye-to-eye contact. Since the horse is accustomed to the wand with plastic flying over his head on retreat mode, we're now going to do it at a standstill. No eye contact. I glance off to the side of the horse's head enough, looking off somewhere else in the distance, so the horse knows I'm not making eye-contact (believe me they know--even if I have sunglasses on, they know) and now I'm going to swing figure 8's over his head, his head being in the middle of that "8." It goes down low to the side of his head (he sees out of one eye), circles over his head and comes back down the other side of his head (he now sees it out of  his other eye). You do not touch the horse here with the plastic, it just flies over the head in that figure 8 pattern. Do it very casually, make your body language relaxed, "ho-hum" and your movements the same. But do not look the horse square in the eyes while doing this. You can see him perfectly well with your peripheral vision there to make sure you don't accidentally konk the horse with the wand or plastic.

If the horse gets too upset, stop, drop the wand to the ground, approach, bond with him. Support him. Stroke his face, neck, scratch his favorite spots there (no patting, please, only strokes and scratches). Stick a finger in the corner of his mouth, feather his tongue to get him working his mouth, which produces instant relaxation in horses (use two hands to do that, one to contain the head by the "nose ridge handle," the other to use to stick in corner of his mouth, placing your finger on top of his tongue; no teeth are there, don't worry. Remove the finger once he starts working his mouth there). Then get him to drop his head using pressure/release, releasing for every downward inch he gives, until his head is low to the ground. Remember: high head is tense horse, low head is relaxed horse. A horse cannot physiologically be tense with the head down, just not possible, how nature designed them. So...get the head down and he will relax instantly. If he stiffens there tensely when you ask for the head down with steady pressure on the lead rope, use the finger in corner of mouth again, and working his mouth unlocks his neck muscles and dropping his head will be easier.

While his head is down low, take the wand and let him sniff it with a low head/relaxed mode. This will help him file away better that it is harmless, not meant to hurt him.

Once he's "come back down" from being tense, pick up the wand and repeat the exercise over his head.

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