Training a horse to not be scared of stock whip?
I have done this before, but this time it's different, my 9yo Standardbred has been flogged with a stock whip before (not by me), and I need to train him not to be scared of it.
I've been told it's possible to train a horse that's been flogged before, but I want to make sure it's not a conflict of training (he was taught to stand up and not push or he'll get hit).
Thanks, much appreciated!
The horse is an extremely quick learner.
e.g opens gates to get out, flips the feed trough to stop rain getting in, etc.
He doesn't always run from it (he sometimes tries and bowl over the person using it), he knows the whip isn't the enemy, it's the person using it.
You can be leading your horse behind you and the whip in front of you. Then swing the whip to the ground on your right side then left. Keep walking as the horse see's the whip bouncing away from it, the horse will think the whip is scared and "running away." Or you could just stroke the horse with the whip very gently, though i do that with my horse who hasn't been afraid of it,so your horse might not like that.
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February 11th, 2009 at 1:05 am
It's going to take a long time, so go slow. Reactions shaped by fear stick with horses longer than any other kind.
I would start with the whip being on the floor of the arena, taking the horse over while wearing it's halter, and letting him smell and touch it, if he will. He may not want to approach it. Next you can lean it against the wall and do the same thing. When this all works without a reaction, walk the horse around the arena and then approach the whip on the floor. Pick it up and walk with it. DO NOT face the horse. Don't move the whip, just walk with it. When that's OK, try dragging it behind you on each side of the horse. When that's OK, start to wave it from one side to the other as you walk, slowly and lazily.
Whenever the horse is tolerating the whip, reward him, ideally with a treat. Make sure you have a helper who gives him the treat while you are handling the whip, otherwise you are rewarding the stop, not tolerating the whip.
If he balks and tries to retreat, you need to hold him in place until he gives up. This could take a long time. You need to NEVER let him step back until he steps toward the whip. Every time. Even one step. The last thing he does before you release the pressure always must be to step forward at least one step. As soon as he does, slack the pressure to nothing. This is his signal that stepping toward the whip is what you want.
Most horses will balk but stand if you hold the lead rope hard (you will need a fair amount of strength and may have to lean into it). Face in the direction you want the horse to go. Usually after a period of time, the horse will suddenly start to pull back harder and then will capitulate and move forward. Slack the pressure immediately. If he goes for longer than five minutes or just continues to build the pressure, try to pull him to one side or the other and if he take any step, even slightly toward the object (he'll be off balance and will need to) reward him as if he had willingly stepped forward.
If all this is OK, stand far from the horse and pick up the whip while facing him. You'll need your helper to stand with him and hold his lead rope. Same rules as always and rewards when he tolerates facing you with the whip. When he tolerates this, at the distance, raise the whip to a position similar to the punishment position. Same rules.
Repeat this on all sides of the horse at the same distance.
Then each session, get closer.
At some point, you will be close enough to touch him with it. Don't start in the scary places where he was abused. Rub it on his body. Eventually he has to tolerate it being rubbed everywhere. Same rules as above about not letting him retreat, and giving him a treat reward for tolerating.
At some point, with all this , you will need to approach the scary place and hold the whip in what he may interpret as the punishing position. Move gradually and slowly each time you go here. Eventually you need to reach out from the punishment position and touch him with the whip.
This is going to take hundreds of repetitions. You should think of this as addiing exercises rather than finishing one and moving on. You need to do this every day you can. You need to be very careful not to reward him for retreating or attempting to retreat.
Don't do too much of this on any one day and do other things that he is comfortable with during the same session. Don't make this a big deal for him.
Don't be frustrated or disheartened by how hard this is or how long this takes. Horses learn differently from us. A human mostly can reencounter a scary situation and reason about it that since it was not hurt this time, that will be true next time, even if the situation is slightly different. Horses don't do that. If you are not comprehensive about going to every possible position of fear, you will someday accidentally go there and the horse will hyperreact.
I hope this helps. Good for you for working to save this horse. Best wishes!
References :
February 11th, 2009 at 1:23 am
You can be leading your horse behind you and the whip in front of you. Then swing the whip to the ground on your right side then left. Keep walking as the horse see's the whip bouncing away from it, the horse will think the whip is scared and "running away." Or you could just stroke the horse with the whip very gently, though i do that with my horse who hasn't been afraid of it,so your horse might not like that.
References :
Worked with horses sense i was 8