KBR Horse Net
Training Case Study:

"Sheba"
Part Three

We worked mainly on the lead line. My objective was to prevent her from bolting if the contact got too intense. If she started to move out, I'd take up the line and tip her nose back to me. Sheba is quite a large horse so timing was everything. If she generated enough momentum it became difficult to control the lead line.

She got to the point where she would let me get close enough to stab the lead line into the ground with the bamboo pole. As soon as she felt the resistance in the line, she would quit swinging away from me and I could pick up the line and touch her face. Then I could work all over her face and head, then down her neck.

Each horse has some little thing that they prefer when being touched for the first time. Some horses like the brush, others prefer the pole, some like little scratchy motions with the finger tips which simulate a grooming horse, some like rubs and some prefer TTouch circles. Sheba didn't want me getting past her shoulder until I tried TTouch and so long as I worked the circles, I could go all over her top line. She did, however, definitely intend to keep me on her "on" side.

In between touches we worked on click-treat patterning. She was resistant at first, but after some muzzle massage she would take carrot bits from my hand and at the end of the session was picking them up with some degree of gusto.

Day 3:

Today was vaccination day. I needed to get Sheba desensitized enough to be handled by the vet. The main focus of the morning's work was walking away and coming back to touch her without her flinching or pulling against the lead rope. She started accepting my approaches without getting unreasonably tense.

At mid day, Mary Sebers came in to get her horse ready for the vet and I talked her into hanging out at the chute. I needed to see how Sheba would tolerate a stranger touching her. I hazed her into the chute and Mary rubbed on her for several minutes and Sheba stood quietly in spite of the fact that the chute gate was left open.

The vet came and we decided to vaccinate Shiloh first, then do Mary's horse, then see if Sheba was up to getting a shot. We decided it would be safest to do it in the chute with the gate closed. I hazed Sheba into the chute, the vet rubbed her, I focused her with some clicker work and she took her shot with almost no reaction at all.

We let her back out and then decided to bring her back into the chute for some rubs and positive interaction. I hazed her back in and we rubbed her some. We decided since she was relaxed in the chute that Sharon would try to approach her on her forbidden "off" side. Poof! Out she backed.

OK, we'll try closing the chute gate and if she tolerates it, we'll work on her scary side a bit. This we did and with me on her on side providing reassurance, not only Sharon but Mary too rubbed and groomed her off side, then detangled and braided her heavily matted mane. While all this was going on, I was teaching "Touch it!" on Sheba's on side using a water bottle and whatever grooming supplies I could find. She would stick her nose through the rails to touch the objects and we played the game until all the carrots ran out. Fortunately all the braiding was done at the same time, so we opened the chute gate and called it quits.

Mary was still rubbing on Sheba and while Sharon and I did chores, she stood in the chute with Mary rubbing on her for about 15 minutes. Finally Mary pushed a lot of slack on Sheba's lead rope and she backed out into her pen.