Jason Webb trains the spooky young mare Kitty

6m 40secs

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Posted: 05/02/2011

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Library > Training for all disciplines > Horse Behaviour

Kitty is a spooky young mare that's newly backed. Australian natural horseman Jason Webb teaches her to go past a scary object by "facing up to her fears". Assessing her 'comfort line', Jason allows Kitty to run past the object in both directions to release her adrenalin, allowing her to stop and look if she wishes as she perceives the object differently with each eye. Jason says, "by letting her move, once she settles, she is more likely to proceed calmly at the next scary object if we were out hacking, rather than continuing to spook". Gradually Kitty's comfort line gets closer to the object and, in no time at all, she marches past it like a pro!

Comments

mavis 15 Aug 2011 Hi i am a novice rider and have serious confidence issues. I was riding a horse last week who spooked and bolted when something moved in the bushes. I fell and knocked my head on the ground. I am still having a mild concussion from the fall. This is the second time i fell off a horse at the exact same spot. I foresee this is a problem I need to address everytime I go past the same spot. However, I am a novice rider and won't be able to stay on the horse like you did, when it gets spooked in such a way. I would be too spooked myself to continue riding when a horse starts acting up this way. In my case, the spooky object is not something stationary. Some insect or reptile could be moving in the bushes at anytime. How do I prevent a horse from bolting whenever he goes past this hedge? Thanks

Jason Webb 16 Feb 2011 Hi Jzee, you'll have to ask Fiona about that! I do get a lot of napping problems - some can be relatively simple to sort out whilst others have developed into other problems such as rearing. Without knowing the background to you and your horse it is tricky to give you good advice, but I would be really happy to talk things through with you if you want to send me an email with your contact details (my email is: jason@australianhorsetraining.co.uk).

Jzee 11 Feb 2011 Jason - your videos are really interesting and informative! Thank you! If you could do one about what to do about a horse napping leaving the yard and reasons why they nap - that would be useful! Or do you have any suggestions that can help me?

Jason Webb 8 Feb 2011 Thank you for your comments - I probably didn't give enough background to the work I had already done with Kitty. She has only just been backed and during that process I did a lot of desensitising work with her on the ground and when ridden. However, horses can't rationalise things and some are just naturally more 'spooky' than others! The more experiences young horses like Kitty can be exposed to that have positive outcomes like this one, the better she will become at handling situations and the more trust she will put in her rider.

mtica 7 Feb 2011 Brilliant! Thank you!

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