Mare is Spooky
Today’s horse training question comes from Amina. She writes:
I have a coming 4yr old Tennesee Walking Mare she is so spooky and she was supposed to be a dead broke mare when i bought her what can i do to start her to behaving a nice horse she got so scared she pulled away and stepped on me.
Amina, I would go back to foundation exercises for your mare, specifically a horse training exercise called sacking out.
Sacking out is getting your horse used to having all kinds of things around him and touching him. I use it when I am starting a colt for the first time, and it’s a very valuable exercise to refresh if you have an older horse that you don’t know the background on, or a horse that seems to be getting nervous and jumpy like your mare.
To me, sacking out is not about de-sensitizing the horse. I want my horse to be sensitive; that is what makes him very responsive. Sacking out is about teaching my horse to control his emotions and make the right choices when he gets nervous or scared.
Put your mare in a pen, preferably a round pen but anything that is not too big and is safe will work. You want your horse to stand still and calm while you rub her all over, starting at her head and covering her neck, back, legs, hips, and belly. Start with just your hands and work up to scarier objects, like a saddle blanket (start with it folded small and gradually unfold it) and I like to work all the up till my horse will let me drape them in a tarp.
Remember to release the pressure regularly by taking the scary object away and stepping back from your horse. This is the real key to this exercise. Try to time it so you step back BEFORE your horse moves away of his own accord. Reward him when he does well, and if he moves away at any point just send him around the pen to work for a little while, and then offer him the choice to come back to you.
Thank you for your horse training question, and please let us know how you are doing and if you have any questions about this exercise.
Remember, top priority is always your and your horse’s safety, so if you are feeling unsafe try to think of another way to do things!
