"Bomb proof horses," what kind of training did you do for your horse?

Question

We all know some horses just don't spook at anything. I like horses like that. I like the police training that police horses go through.

What kind of training did you put your horse through, to give you your "bomb proof horse?"

We have tractors (loud Johnny Poppers), Semi trucks, and a bulldozer the horses are all exposed to. I also live near train tracks, so the horses know the zooming Amtrak, and the slower, but much longer freight trains.

I have my horses walk across blue tarps I lay out on the ground. I'll wave plastic bags about during training and riding. I live near a gun range. I ride the horses over there during shooting matches.

In short I expose my horses to all kinds of things that frighten most horses. I like alert, bold horses, that are not easily frightened.

Answer 1

Hmm...anything I could think of that they might encounter and find scary.  Luckily, they are exposed to a lot of things because of where we live.  They see lots of animals (deer, dogs, etc), cars, tractors, dump trucks, and ATVs that go down the road (their fence line runs parallel to the road--we live in the country).

And then, there's always the stuff that they don't see "in nature."  Tarps, plastic bags, pop cans strung together on a piece of twine, balloons....on and on.  I show so I try to think of things they may see at a show, like umbrellas, wagons/strollers, bikes, loud noises, etc.

I paint my trail obstacles funky colors because some horses are funny about colored stuff.  I went to a show once where their ground poles were red, white, and blue, and half the horses in the class shied away and wouldn't go over them.  So I have a bunch of different colored ones (ok, so I was bored, haha).

I've taken balloons and popped them nearby.  I bounce stuff around them so they get used to things hitting the ground near them.  Hobble-training and ground tying are GREAT.  It can save your horse's life!

I'm sure there's lots more, but this is getting long as it is and I can't think of anything else right now, heh.

Answer 2

I think some of it has to do with breeding as well.  I cannot vouch for my training techniques as I am a relative novice.  I grew up around horses (my uncle still has a huge thoroughbred farm), but never really thought I liked them.  Now I have a 3 yo Percheron who pulls our manure spreader and plow, and we ride him.  He is amazing... idiots who drive up in cars and blow horns, 4 wheelers who buzz us, at most he just flicks his ears toward the sound.  He never even stiffens up or flinches.  

The only time I have seen him freak out is when a friend landed an ultralight airplane in our pasture, which is huge.  The plane landed far from where the horse and cows were grazing, but that horse took off after the plane, screaming and striking and kicking.  I guess he is our guard horse.

I have never seen him spook at anything else, and that seemed more like an attack than a fearful reaction.

I never thought I liked horses that much, but I LOVE this one.  He gives me "hugs" and comes over whenever I am in the pasture.  He comes when I call him so he can work, and he will let me do anything - pick his feet, pull a burdock out of his tail,  check his teeth, whatever.  I try to give him lots of positive attention to keep it working this way, but I think I really really lucked out!  

Answer 3

I agree, there is no such thing as "bomb proof", but exposing your horse to everything that you can in a relaxed manner will get him as close to it as possible. Miles, miles and more miles where he sees, hears and smells everything and develops the confidence to stay and not react in a negative way.

Answer 4

well i started writing this answer when my puter shut down so here i start over.

good trainers/breeders will start from when the foal is young, from picking up feet, geting them used to being touched (groomed, petted, vet checks, ect). . . they'll they introduce them to as many different things as possible. there's 3-4 years of training you can do before you  train a horse for riding.  plastic bags, fairs, trailering .  . . just about anything a horse may meet in life you try to at least show them and get them used to seeing. thus creating a "bombproof" horse.  you can do this at any age, but it's SOSOSOSO much easier to do when they're younger.

just introduce the things you want to get them used to one at a time. see how they react and then find away to teach the horse it's okay/your not going to let that thing hurt the horse.

it takes a trained person/someone who knows what they're doing to do this easily. . . if not just going at it with little to no knowledge will get you and the horse hurt.

Answer 5

I just ride my horse eveywhere  and when we come across something scary we work through it there or bring it/recreate in at home.

I don't try to desensitize at home but neither of my horses are particually spooky to start with. If I had a horse that spooked at everything, I would work on it at home using some of the methods you do.  

Answer 6

Patience and exposing them to as much odd things as can be tried. The only thing my horse had a 'fear' of was going through water.  This was true for her first couple of years - we rarely saw much, and then when we moved and she finally had other horses to be with - she saw another horse trot right through a little stream and she never had a problem again.  So I'll add having other "bomb proof" horses to be role models.

Answer 7

having them walk over bubble wrap

blowing bubbles at them

walk over a brightly painted board (like neon bright)

make all sorts of commotion at once (ballons and blow noise makers etc.)

hmmm...thats about all i can think of at the moment that ive done with my horse...

hih and good luck!

Answer 8

I start with ground tying.  I also teach them to bring the head down to where their nose touches the ground (lead rope fed under my foot) and hold it there and relax.  I snake the lead around and over every inch of them, and do it until they stand square, head lowered, and chewing (shows relaxation).  I train them to replace fight or flight with stop moving and think. They are exposed to every kind of noise, animal, surprise, sensation, etc. and respond by standing and waiting for me to signal the next move.  In training, I stand my ground and let them flip out, even bump themselves up, until they realize that their fit is a waste of energy, and hurts.  When they take my cues, it is easy and doesn't hurt.  I also do the tarp training, which is less about getting them to desensitize to the feel of it as it is to get them to walk slowly and sensibly over it, alert to the feel, but not panicking and out of control.  I want them cautious, and listening to me for direction.

I don't want them to ignore their instincts...just not to respond by flipping out.  For example, when I train them to go over a bridge, they are taught to carefully place one foot at a time.  If when weight is borne on that foot, a board moves, the horse stops and waits for a cue. I know to back up and check out the reason why my horse stopped.  If a bird flies out in front of them in a field, they stop and wait for my cue.

It isn't possible to introduce every possible source of fear to every horse, but if you can overcome the fight or flight, which you can with enough work, they really are bombproof.

Add....yes, it is about trust overcoming fight or flight.  They stay put because they trust that your direction will be safer than running or fighting. When the cougar was stalking, they felt safer being with you than they would by running off.

Answer 9

Seriously, I think the best thing I've ever done to acclimate horses to weird stuff is bring a young boy with me to the barn and give him things to play with.  My son would race down the aisle on a tricycle, pull a very rattly metal wagon, wave sticks around, make strange noises, etc.  At first he made the horses nervous.  Now they're just curious.

Answer 10

No such thing as "Bomb proof"  some are just less "environmentally sensitive" than others.

Answer 11

There is NO such thing as a bomb proof horse. Yes you can desensitize your horse, but horses are horses and they can and will still spook occasionally. Anyone you says they have a "bomb proof horse" is lying. There is no such thing... Just thought I'd clarify that.... No harm meant at all by this answer, sorry if it's not what you were looking for.