KBR Horse Training Information Exercising Body AND Mind Making and Using a "Horse Thumper" Part Two

Going down the front legs

Getting to those scary places After the horse is fully confident with the thumper along his shoulders, back, head, chest and front legs we can then work on that scary underbelly and inside his hind legs. Please note the following safety issues. Maintain control of the horse's lead. If he startles, you want his head staying with you and his hind end swinging away from you. (We photographed this horse at liberty to show that horses can easily tolerate this exercise but we first determined that Scout wouldn't cow kick or knock us down!) If the horse seems overly reactive, stroke him in sensitive areas with a pole, longe whip, rope or other safer object until he tolerates being touched by the smaller object before applying the much larger thumper. Sometimes we may "thump" the horse in his tolerant areas (please see below) and then return and quietly stroke the more scary areas. The stroking then becomes a more calming contrast to the thumping. Don't ever push the horse past his rational tolerance. This exercise should be a challenge but not unbearably frightening.

Contacting the belly from a safe position Going down the hind legs after the horse has shown he can tolerate the contact

"Thumping" the horse Once the horse is comfortable with being touched we can up the ante. The thumper allows us to make quite a bit of noise without causing the horse any physical discomfort. Our next step is to repeat the process while "thumping" the horse. Once the horse is used to being touched, and then being slapped by a bulky, noisy object, he will then have less of a tendency to overreact to unexpected stimulus when being handled or ridden. The following are key points to consider when "thumping" any horse.

Thumping the horse

Start out by thumping your own arm or leg a safe distance from the horse so that he gets used to the sound. (Plus you'll get a sense of how it feels to be thumped. It should get your attention but not hurt.) Take a position that does not suggest to the horse that you are sending him off. (I typically like to stand at the head and start thumping near the shoulders.) If the horse gets overly anxious, go back to brushing with the thumper until he calms down. Don't move to more scary places until the horse is comfortable being thumped in less scary places. Never thump in the horse's groin or between the hind legs! Always maintain a position where you won't get cow kicked if you overdo things and the horse reacts. Provide a lot of positive reinforcement as the horse settles to contact that was formerly scary to him. Keep forays into scary zones short. Go back and work safe zones, then return to the scary places (approach and retreat concept.) If the horse starts to get overly worked up, switch to an activity for which the horse is confident then return later to thumping, starting from the beginning with introduction and rubbing.

Thumping helps get the horse confident around bulky and noisy objects in a more controlled environment before attaching circingles, saddles and climbing on board. Moving to the next level

The ultimate objective

Return to Part One

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