Training Horse Profile: Pearl the Pony

Training Goals:

• Desensitize to handling and everyday activities
• Gain confidence in hand and under saddle

Pearl was purchased at an auction and seemed to be a nice little pony.  She was purchased with the intent to use her as a lead line pony for the grandkids.  When her new owners brought her home, they immediately noticed that she was extremely spooky.  The slightest movement could cause her to spook and bolt.  When she bolted, she would yank the rope right out of their hand.  She was also hard to catch, and she couldn't even be touched without holding a pan of grain in front of her nose.

She demonstrated her spookiness upon her arrival by bolting when a gate closed behind her.  Her owner was able to hang onto the rope, but she dragged him a short ways across the pasture.  Thankfully, no significant injuries were sustained!

Week 1

After the previous night's demonstration, I was expecting her to be scared of everything, but that was not the case.  Interestingly, she was not afraid of the things we typically use for desensitizing.  I could shake plastic bags, swing whips, kick a large rubber ball into her, etc. and she would hardly notice.  But if I raised my arms or moved too quickly, she would bolt.  There’s a good chance that she was handled roughly by a previous owner or experienced some trauma that has resulted in this fear of people. 

• Leading: Since she tends to bolt, I switched her to a rope halter instead of a nylon halter.  This gave me a lot more control when she spooked and resulted in regaining control quickly after bolting.  Worked on improving her response to all directions of halter pressure.
• Desensitizing to human movement:  I did A LOT of jumping jacks throughout her training.  I found that raising my hands and jumping were the movements that most commonly caused her to spook.  
• Lunging:  I taught her to lunge both directions.  She picked up the left circle pretty quickly, but she was very resistant to the right circle.  She likes to keep people on her left side, so circling with her right side to me was very challenging for her.
• Round Penning:  This helped to teach her human body language, when to move and when to be still.  It can be a very helpful exercise to do with horses that are hard to catch.
• Pivots:  I taught her to move her forehand and hindquarters away from me in both directions.  This can aid in teaching a horse when a touch means to move and when it doesn't.

Desensitizing is a good rainy day activity.

Learning to Lunge

Week 2

I decided that she had improved enough on the ground to start doing some desensitizing in the saddle.  I was expecting her to ride nicely as she behaved perfectly in the sale ring, but boy was I wrong.  I had loose reins (my mistake) and I had barely sat down in the saddle when she lunged forward, head down, and took off bucking.  I was in no position to collect myself, so I exited the saddle, remounted and tried again.  I kept her on a short rein after that and the rest of that day was spent going in very small circles.  Very dizzying!  If I let her neck straighten out at all, she’d lunge into a buck.

She also did not stand still for mounting and would back up quickly once I had my foot in the stirrup.  Most of this week was spent working on standing still for mounting and riding in small circles to interrupt her bucking attempts.

Pearl looking pretty relaxed on the bridge.

Week 3

This week we made progress under saddle.  She is getting better at standing still for mounting and we were actually able to ride in some larger circles and straight lines.  She still wanted to buck when I first got on, but the duration of this got shorter each time.  She steers well, stops, and walks and trots on command.  She will now let me pet her and catch her without having grain in my hand.

Week 4

She was doing well in the arena, so it was time to see how she would react to more open space.  I started in the small pasture, just in case things went badly.  She was clearly eager to get out of the ring, but she behaved well.  The only issue was keeping her moving in the taller grass.  That green stuff is so tempting!

Later in the week, we moved on to the big pasture.  The machines at the top of the hill were a bit scary, but she worked through it and kept herself mostly under control.  The big horses running the fence line to meet her didn't bother her either.

Week 5

Time to move onto a bigger challenge.  This week we hit the trails.  She wasn’t sure about crossing the wooden bridge, so I got off and after a few attempts we walked across together.  I wanted the ride to be a positive experience so I didn’t want to push her too hard right at the beginning.  I always use extra caution when working with a horse on the bridge as it is a pretty good drop to the creek.  She was very looky on the trails and breathing heavy, but behaved respectably.  We encountered some swampy trails that she didn't want to go through, so we will give them a try another day.  Overall, it went very well.

The next day we headed out on the trails again.  This time I rode her across the bridge.  It took a couple approaches but I was able to get her across without much pushing.  She was much calmer and more relaxed.  After stopping for a few moments to check it out, she went through the swampy area as well.

Heavy rain interrupted trail riding for a day, but the covered stalls provided shelter to work on more desensitizing.  By this time she was pretty comfortable with most typical human interaction and no longer cared about my jumping jacks.

Back out on the trails again.  She didn’t want to leave the barn as much today, so I had to keep her moving forward.  No issues crossing the bridge or spooking, even though a large turkey flew out of the brush.

Happy Trails, Pearl!

Pearl made a lot of improvements over the five weeks of training and has grown a lot calmer.  When she first arrived, she would blow noisily at everything.  By the end, she rarely did.  She is much more comfortable with people and will walk up looking for a treat (not quite to petting range yet).  She is easier to catch, halter, and lead.  She usually stands still for mounting and she no longer tries to buck at the beginning of the ride.  She gained more trust in people and is not as easily startled by hand movements.  Her owners commented that they could see the difference in her, and that she was much calmer around them.  With continued love and handling, she will gain even more trust and confidence!