Day 2 of the despooking clinic

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Drill formations? As an effective way to despook a horse? That’s a new one.

How does it work? Let me count the ways

#1 to improve your control over your horses movement
#2 to increase your own spatial awareness and become one “with the herd”


#3 to distract you and your horse from a worrying object
#4 to approach and be approached by threatening objects (“my horse kicks”) and become desensitized


#5 to keep you focused on an important and complicated task (thread the needle) and reduce your anxiety
#6 to help you (and your horse) feel successful and confident, because progress is generally quick and measurable


#7 to feel the camraderies of the other riders and find joy
#8 to teach your horse to fit into tight spaces and survive / thrive


# 9 to “save the girl” and find a higher purpose

#10 to remember that forward is always the right answer

Say what you will, I found the horses and handlers to be more controlled and confident on the second day. While it challenges my assumptions about training, desensitizing and despooking, it also was clearly effective at helping foster a change in behaviour. Every handler left the clinic having had fun, having identified their horses kryptonite, and gaining in their confidence.

I must also note that the participants were less numerous on Day 2 (8 vs 11), and there were no obstacles on the ground to get in the way. But nobody blinked at the dead body hanging on the wall, or at the temporary tarp shelter at the back door. I am anxious to see what happens with the 16 participants who show up tomorrow. Ill be there early to get a first row seat.

And Ill keep you posted.


Comments

  1. DomApril 7, 2019 at 9:10 PM

    This method seems to work in trail riding to some degree as well. Generally, if you stick a young horse in a group of experienced horses, he'll take cues from the other equines in the herd and act as they act, often paying more attention to the other horses than the obstacles on trail. Recently saw a great example of this when we took a young stallion to his first endurance ride!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nat DApril 7, 2019 at 9:41 PM

      Dom you are right. Its why I am often fussy about who I ride with when on a green horse. As for this method, Im percolating on some broader lessons and starting to think the clinic was more about human psychology than horse training. A lot of what was done is not really transferable to the trail, except the handlers witnessed the amount of pressure their horses could handle. And that might just boost their confidence next time they are in a tricky situation.

      If the handlers maintained this type of training on top of solid groundwork, and regularly desensitized their horses ... maybe. But odds are most of us will go home to same old routine.

      Delete

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