Training Exercises: De-Sensitize

A horse must learn how to “keep his head” in novel or frightening situations. He must learn to use the left side of his intellect that is logical and thoughtful to reason a response and not the right side that is emotional, reactive and uncontrolled. He must “learn to learn” (See Two Brains.) And he must learn to control anxiety in a confident fashion. see De-Sensitization Theory

Some breeds are more prone to right-side emoting: Arabs (hot bloods) are a good example. Some breeds are more easy-going and easier to switch to left-side thinking. Draft horses are probably the most mild-mannered (cold bloods).

animationOnce your horse has started to join you in his journey to partnership, he must trust that you will not hurt him and that you will lead him only down safe travels. His natural instincts will keep him nervous, wary and ever-vigilant. He looks to the leader to warn of danger and to prescribe action in the face of danger. In the wild that function is performed by the head stallion or mare in the group. You have to overcome his “flight or fight” instinct becoming a strong leader that he can trust. You have to become his “safe space” home-base when he encounters things that cause fear.

When a horse is free, he can approach and retreat from an unfamiliar object at will. Distance is comfortable and calms fear. He will approach an object just to his threshold of nervousness, then retreat from it to calm down. This is a normal elevation of fear followed by a normal relaxation of his nervous system. Experience with manageable anxiety can give a horse confidence in the particular situation as well as grow his tolerance of anxiety generally across all unfamiliar, stress-inducing situations.

To do this, we introduce him to situations that are uncomfortable for him. However, as he will generally be on a lead, he cannot escape at will to the distance that makes him comfortable. Therefore, our first job is to study his reactions carefully, identifying his natural threshold of anxiety. If you approach with a scary object, study his face, ears, and head set. There you will find the first clues to his fear. Recognizing that moment, showing him that you recognize the moment by slightly lowering your pressure before he has to flee, helps to build a trusting relationship with him. It takes some practice to recognize and react to the very first signs. But with practice, he will go up in anxiety and then back down gently instead of screaming away from you.

As trust builds, you can proceed to approach the moment again: just barely beyond the original threshold in Baby Steps. Each time he overcomes his anxiety, he must be given time to relax his nervous system before another threshold is pushed. Your body language and voice will help create a calm space from which he can take his cues.

Natural Horsemanship trainers incorporate these exercises in the very beginning of a horse’s training. I think Parelli calls them “Friendly Games” and Clinton Anderson calls it “De-sensitizing” exercises. Whatever the nomenclature, they are the foundation of trust and learning.

Beginning Exercises

In my practice I NEVER start the close-up de-sensitizing unless my horse is relaxed. Your horse should have already “Joined up” and be willing to lead to your training area. He should be an easy companion and in a calm state of relaxation with you. He will mirror your emotional state, your breathing, your heart rate.

caspian horseUnder no circumstance should you start your session with hopped-up liberty lunging. Fast and pressured lunging only adds adrenaline to a horse’s system. Adrenaline causes the opposite of left-brain reasoning. If your horse will not calm down enough in the round pen to slow to a walk, he is not ready for up-close de-sensitizing.

When he is ready, he must learn to respect but also understand the tools of your trade.

Your horse has already seen your lead rope or your training stick. He saw it when he lunged during the join-up lessons. However, he has not seen all of its twists and tricks. He has not been introduced to all of its pressures, touches and tickles. In fact, he is probably a little apprehensive of it since it was used to motivate him to move around the round pen in different directions during his round-penning and joining up exercises.

Now is the time to give him a new look at the rope; to desensitize him to all of its applications. Now is the time to desensitize him to a “carrot stick” or “handy stick”, a lunge whip (if you use one), your hands, maybe even your hat! There’s no telling what he will react to (be “sensitive” to). Over time he will have to accept his saddle pad, his saddle, saddle bags, a rain slicker, a bed roll and a myriad of other new stimuli that will frighten him and challenge his thinking skills.

Then, believe it or not, he has to see all of these things from both sides of his body and in new and strange surroundings.



De-sensitizing to Your Training Tools

Start with your relaxed horse in the center of the round pen on a 14′-15′ lead (more lead is too cumbersome, less is too short to stay away from him in an emergency). Stand at a 45 degree angle to his shoulder. At that angle, you can keep control of his head and follow his avoidance moves, but you can get out of his way if he jumps forward. On-lead is different than when he is at liberty. What we DON’T want is for him to believe that he has no control – no escape. So keep the lead loose in your hand with only as much control as it takes to keep his head facing toward you as you work through the exercise. (That keeps his rear end safely away from you)

Now raise your stick and string or rope and start to swing it on the left side of his body – FAR to the left of his body. Swing in steady rhythm: 1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000, 4-1000, 5-1000, 6-1000 and so forth. If he is so frantic to get away from the swinging rope that he is running sideways or backwards, stop so that he can calm. When you start again, swing even further away from him. You need to establish a starting point where he is worried, but not moving away. Let him calm down. Try again. After a couple of tries at the tolerable distance, move a little closer.

Repeat the stimulus and the routine again. Watch for his reaction to reach his tolerance level and lower the pressure. You are building a connection by “hearing” him.

If he is worried and moves away slightly (a natural response), just move with him while you lower the pressure a degree. (Follow him. Don’t chase him. And don’t restrain him except enough to keep his head tilted toward you. Let him retreat, but go with him.) Follow until he finally stands still.

Each time he stands still, stop ALL pressure immediately. Relax your body posture and let him rest. The rest period gives him time to come down from his high state of arousal (fear) and realize that nothing terrible happened. It is important that he complete this cycle of nervous experience from high alert to slow relaxation.

Repeat the swinging sequences until, when he stops he shows you some relaxation sign such as licking his lips or lowering his head. If he is pressured to a point of “tonic immobility” (freezing) instead of relaxation, you have pressed him too far and he has retreated inside himself instead of managing the pressure to a slow calm. As a trainer, you must learn to recognize the difference.

A huge amount of training involves overcoming anxiety. Entering and exiting natural states of arousal is critical to building his ability to understand and tolerate unexpected events.

When he is relaxed as you swing from your starting distance, move the rhythm closer by degrees, resting in between. Ultimately, you will be able to swing and slap the ground without his being at all worried, jumpy or moving. Now do the same thing on the right side (remember two brains).

Do this with each piece of equipment until you can tap, slap, and pound right next to him on each side, in front, over his head.

Now, start to touch his front quarters, withers, and back with your stick or rope. Flop the string and your rope over his withers, back and forth from withers to tail and back again. Now closer to his head. Now start wrapping it around his legs. Each time you find a spot that bothers him (even a little flinch) work there until he is relaxed. Up and down, front and back, top and under his belly. Toss the rope everywhere. Let it give him little slaps with the leathers.


Rub him with the rope. Rub him everywhere, working hardest on “oh, no” spots: spots where he doesn’t want to be touched.

Flinches show problems. Work them through. Approach and touch the “oh, no”, then stop and RELAX. Approach and touch the “oh, no”, then stop and relax. Ad infinitum. You should be able to jump around, toss the tools, swing the ropes and string (even over his head like a helicopter), slap the ground next to him, behind him, in front of his face. You aren’t through until he is rock solid while you act like a maniac and he stands his ground with lowered head and a look of pure boredom.

See More Desensitizing Exercises

Read about Spooky Horses here.

Thank you Kristull Ranch in Austin, Texas for pictures.

Horse training can be dangerous. Not all methods work on all horses. Instruction presented here is not meant to be prescriptive in nature, and Horse-Pros.com takes no responsibility for the welfare of any animal or person using our methods.

Please note that any advice given on horse-pros.com is neither veterinary nor prescriptive in nature but offered only as an introduction to this topic.

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