35. Rein Control on Green Horse...

How to get your horse to go through water and anything else they find scary...



I really rate this trainer, i think he strikes the right balance between leadership and partnership. I would like to try this tactic with Spice because her reactions to 'scary monsters' are very similar to this horses except for the fact that she also attempts to rear as i use rein control and i have to admit i usually 'give in' when she does this because i am scared.....mmmm think i can hear you all saying that i may just be teaching her that rearing is the way she can avoid me using contact.....but as a new rider i'm just not sure i want to be on the receiving end of a rear - who's to say that she wont go all the way up, lose her balance and land on me?

So, whether i would be brave enough to try this trainers technique i don't know.

Another technique i would like to try is simply relaxation...I came across this technique when every day i returned to the stables spice would spook at the battery connected to the electric fencing and refuse to go past it. I'd have a big 'fight' with her every time we got home which needless to say ended the ride on a complete low.

However, one day i told myself that i wasn't going to do anything and so a few metres before we got up to it i took my feet out of my stirrups, controlled my breathing, focused on something in a completely different direction, stopped using any cues let go of my reins and essentially became just a sack of potatoes on her back...

Much to my amazement this actually worked. Spice took one look at the battery, hesitated looked round at me as if to say aren't you going to try to get me passed, i paid NO attention to her, simply acted as though i didn't care and continued to lok at something in the opposite direction and before i knew it she just walked on past it! It was as easy and simple as that no fight, no battle just relaxation. I have to go now but will be back this afternoon to talk more about this subject...

Back now...so i don't know if this was just a 'one off' and that she may just have walked past it anyway but from that day forth spice never ever spooked at the electrical fencing ever again so i would like to experiment further with this idea.