To Sensitize or Desensitize
What is the big deal with desensitizing horses? Why do we have to do it? Well, we do not use horses for transport anymore, we breed them differently as I have mentioned before and so now they act differently. To keep us safe, we have to have to use up their energy and get them using the thinking side of their brain before we get on them. Otherwise, the question is not will you get hurt, the question is when will you get hurt. Your riding on borrowed time and soon that time will be up.
Every horse is born with a certain temperament. Some are more sensitive then others and some are very dull or not sensitive at all. These are the ones described usually as bomb proof. The sensitized ones are usually described as hot. Depending on your horse’s temperament depends on if you need to sensitize or desensitize, but most likely you need to do both to keep your horse even.
A dull horse or one considered very calm is usually not bothered by much. Doesn’t matter if he has seen it before, or not, he usually takes everything in stride. He is just like your friend that doesn’t seem to get upset at many things. Car gets broken into, that’s ok they have insurance. Car gets stolen, oh well I needed a new car anyway. They get fired from their job, oh well, time to move on. Somehow they just stay calm no matter what happens.
This kind of horse doesn’t spook much, usually is curious, and will just look at things but not run away or spin. He usually takes a lot of leg to get him to move forward, and does most things with the least amount of energy. He is happy to just walk on the trail and if the other horses gets ahead, oh well, he is fine alone and does not get upset. He may kick out but usually does not run away, buck or rear because that would take too much energy and what’s the point anyway. You may need spurs or a stick to get him to move. They are usually slow horses. These horses are also called husband horses, wife horses and packers, because they will usually take care of everyone as long as they do not have to do to much work.
The sensitive horse is much like your friend who is hyper. They keep running around doing things, your friend doesn’t like to sit still. Always busy running around, exercising and working on projects. They seem to stay busy all the time. Almost sounds like I am describing myself!
This kind of horse pays attention to everything. The wind blows the wrong way and they spook. Something new at the barn or trail and they will spook. They don’t take much leg to make them move forward, you definitely do not need spurs or a stick to make him go. They are usually easy to teach sidepass and roll backs etc. because they move off your leg well. They do not like being left back on the trail, and will get upset if they get too far behind. They are usually more competitive and may buck or rear if he gets upset. They are also usually fast horses and more for an intermediate rider.
Now most horses are usually some where between these two types of horses. So it’s up to you to figure out is he more sensitive or dull. If he is dull you need to sensitize him more, get his respect and get his feet to move when you ask him. You have to motivate him to move when you say move.
If he is already sensitive then you need to desensitize him more and teach him to stand still when things are moving around him. Each time you desensitize him you need to expose him to something new, don’t just use the same thing, like the rope and the flag, find scary things to get him use to it. If he spooks at a noise on the trail, find something similar to it and use it at home, if he spooks at a dog, then bring your dog into the roundpen and work on it. You get the idea.
If your horse tends to get spooky when not ridden, then he is more on the sensitive side. So you should roundpen him to work his energy off, but then spend even more time desensitizing him before you ride him.
If you horse is pretty calm and gets stubborn when you do not ride him then your horse is probably on the dull side. Then you want to move his feet more in the roundpen, but do not wear him out or he won’t move when you ask him and you do not want to do a lot of desensitizing but you should still do some to make sure he hasn’t changed. You will most likely need to convince him that he needs to work.
Usually you need to do a mix of both, but you need to do one more then the other. As your horse changes with the work he is getting, the weather and what you feed him, you may have to change how much you do of each. This is how you keep your horse level and this is how you stay level on your horse. If your horse does not stay level, either will you and at some point you may fall off.
Just like you wouldn’t want a hyper person to get much caffeine or a calm person to smoke too much marijuana because it would make both situations worse. But giving a calm person caffeine might help them get going and giving the hyper person marijuana may help to level them out. So you sensitize one and desensitize the other.
So with the horse you don’t want to feed your sensitive horse much alfalfa or grain as it will make him hotter, and probably jumpier, but feeding a calm horse alfalfa and grain could help him become more sensitive. If you start thinking about it you may solve a lot of your problems. Feed the hot horse feed that is low in sugar but higher in fat. This kind of horse will need more work to work off his energy. Feed the dull horse feed that is higher in sugar and you may need to work him less so he has energy when you ride him.
If you just get on and ride then you are dealing with the temperament the horse was born with, but it changes if they are not ridden or their brain is not worked, and usually for the worst.
In the wild they would have to use their energy to find food and they would have to use their brain to stay safe and survive. This would keep the horse level.
So remember your horse is not in the wild anymore, he is not walking 30 miles looking for food. Your horse is fed and you keep him safe in his paddock, he is not using his brain or his energy. His trainer knew how to use his energy up and how to make him use his brain. He or she worked him and desensitized him. Now that you are not using up his energy or making him use his brain, he has become unlevel.
He was fine when you bought him but now he is a spook. He seemed very calm when you tried him on the trail, but now he won’t keep his feet still when everyone stops to take a break. He use to move off your leg but now he just ignores you. He use to ride out from the barn alone but now he won’t leave the barn and plants his feet and won’t go forward.
It’s time to stop what you have been doing, and figure out what kind of horse you have and start coming up with a plan to make him the best horse he can be.
Remember you picked your horse, he did not pick you. So hopefully you picked the right one for the level of experience you have and the right temperament for you. Could you imagine if they could talk. I can hear them now, I don’t want to go with her she will never get me out enough, I’m gona go crazy and probably buck her off and then she will just sell me to another person and i will get passed from home to home. Or this one is a pushover I can’t wait to mess with her. She will feed me and make me fat and I can easily intimidate her so she is afraid to ride me, I can't wait!
The question you need to ask yourself, is did you pick the pretty dull one or the pretty sensitive one? And what are you going to do to him to keep him level, so you stay level on his back and not be level on the ground.
What is the big deal with desensitizing horses? Why do we have to do it? Well, we do not use horses for transport anymore, we breed them differently as I have mentioned before and so now they act differently. To keep us safe, we have to have to use up their energy and get them using the thinking side of their brain before we get on them. Otherwise, the question is not will you get hurt, the question is when will you get hurt. Your riding on borrowed time and soon that time will be up.
Every horse is born with a certain temperament. Some are more sensitive then others and some are very dull or not sensitive at all. These are the ones described usually as bomb proof. The sensitized ones are usually described as hot. Depending on your horse’s temperament depends on if you need to sensitize or desensitize, but most likely you need to do both to keep your horse even.
A dull horse or one considered very calm is usually not bothered by much. Doesn’t matter if he has seen it before, or not, he usually takes everything in stride. He is just like your friend that doesn’t seem to get upset at many things. Car gets broken into, that’s ok they have insurance. Car gets stolen, oh well I needed a new car anyway. They get fired from their job, oh well, time to move on. Somehow they just stay calm no matter what happens.
This kind of horse doesn’t spook much, usually is curious, and will just look at things but not run away or spin. He usually takes a lot of leg to get him to move forward, and does most things with the least amount of energy. He is happy to just walk on the trail and if the other horses gets ahead, oh well, he is fine alone and does not get upset. He may kick out but usually does not run away, buck or rear because that would take too much energy and what’s the point anyway. You may need spurs or a stick to get him to move. They are usually slow horses. These horses are also called husband horses, wife horses and packers, because they will usually take care of everyone as long as they do not have to do to much work.
The sensitive horse is much like your friend who is hyper. They keep running around doing things, your friend doesn’t like to sit still. Always busy running around, exercising and working on projects. They seem to stay busy all the time. Almost sounds like I am describing myself!
This kind of horse pays attention to everything. The wind blows the wrong way and they spook. Something new at the barn or trail and they will spook. They don’t take much leg to make them move forward, you definitely do not need spurs or a stick to make him go. They are usually easy to teach sidepass and roll backs etc. because they move off your leg well. They do not like being left back on the trail, and will get upset if they get too far behind. They are usually more competitive and may buck or rear if he gets upset. They are also usually fast horses and more for an intermediate rider.
Now most horses are usually some where between these two types of horses. So it’s up to you to figure out is he more sensitive or dull. If he is dull you need to sensitize him more, get his respect and get his feet to move when you ask him. You have to motivate him to move when you say move.
If he is already sensitive then you need to desensitize him more and teach him to stand still when things are moving around him. Each time you desensitize him you need to expose him to something new, don’t just use the same thing, like the rope and the flag, find scary things to get him use to it. If he spooks at a noise on the trail, find something similar to it and use it at home, if he spooks at a dog, then bring your dog into the roundpen and work on it. You get the idea.
If your horse tends to get spooky when not ridden, then he is more on the sensitive side. So you should roundpen him to work his energy off, but then spend even more time desensitizing him before you ride him.
If you horse is pretty calm and gets stubborn when you do not ride him then your horse is probably on the dull side. Then you want to move his feet more in the roundpen, but do not wear him out or he won’t move when you ask him and you do not want to do a lot of desensitizing but you should still do some to make sure he hasn’t changed. You will most likely need to convince him that he needs to work.
Usually you need to do a mix of both, but you need to do one more then the other. As your horse changes with the work he is getting, the weather and what you feed him, you may have to change how much you do of each. This is how you keep your horse level and this is how you stay level on your horse. If your horse does not stay level, either will you and at some point you may fall off.
Just like you wouldn’t want a hyper person to get much caffeine or a calm person to smoke too much marijuana because it would make both situations worse. But giving a calm person caffeine might help them get going and giving the hyper person marijuana may help to level them out. So you sensitize one and desensitize the other.
So with the horse you don’t want to feed your sensitive horse much alfalfa or grain as it will make him hotter, and probably jumpier, but feeding a calm horse alfalfa and grain could help him become more sensitive. If you start thinking about it you may solve a lot of your problems. Feed the hot horse feed that is low in sugar but higher in fat. This kind of horse will need more work to work off his energy. Feed the dull horse feed that is higher in sugar and you may need to work him less so he has energy when you ride him.
If you just get on and ride then you are dealing with the temperament the horse was born with, but it changes if they are not ridden or their brain is not worked, and usually for the worst.
In the wild they would have to use their energy to find food and they would have to use their brain to stay safe and survive. This would keep the horse level.
So remember your horse is not in the wild anymore, he is not walking 30 miles looking for food. Your horse is fed and you keep him safe in his paddock, he is not using his brain or his energy. His trainer knew how to use his energy up and how to make him use his brain. He or she worked him and desensitized him. Now that you are not using up his energy or making him use his brain, he has become unlevel.
He was fine when you bought him but now he is a spook. He seemed very calm when you tried him on the trail, but now he won’t keep his feet still when everyone stops to take a break. He use to move off your leg but now he just ignores you. He use to ride out from the barn alone but now he won’t leave the barn and plants his feet and won’t go forward.
It’s time to stop what you have been doing, and figure out what kind of horse you have and start coming up with a plan to make him the best horse he can be.
Remember you picked your horse, he did not pick you. So hopefully you picked the right one for the level of experience you have and the right temperament for you. Could you imagine if they could talk. I can hear them now, I don’t want to go with her she will never get me out enough, I’m gona go crazy and probably buck her off and then she will just sell me to another person and i will get passed from home to home. Or this one is a pushover I can’t wait to mess with her. She will feed me and make me fat and I can easily intimidate her so she is afraid to ride me, I can't wait!
The question you need to ask yourself, is did you pick the pretty dull one or the pretty sensitive one? And what are you going to do to him to keep him level, so you stay level on his back and not be level on the ground.