Getting past the Scary

Posted at November 5, 2009 // Clicker Training

Boomer's finished haircut

After Boomer received his haircut (which by the way I love now) my mom and I decided it would be a good idea to work with Blitz and the clippers. Our clippers are really loud – and I’d be scared if they came at me! And while Boomer took to the clippers with hardly any problems at all, he’s not the average horse. I’ve always said I’ve never seen/had a horse quite like him that is pretty much unfazed and curious about everything. Blitz on the other hand is naturally more cautious. It takes him a few days to get the courage to touch scary things while it will take Boomer mere minutes. But the fact is Blitz will get over it, he just needs a little more time.

So anyway, onto the clippers. With the help of the clicker we attempted to get Blitz used to the scary clippers. He was actually pretty good. We didn’t snip any hair (other than my mom’s little mishap and a few whiskers) but we made good progress with him. You can watch the video below.

Blitz was untied throughout the session – although I did hold the end of the rope just as a precaution – so if he decided to move away he was able to. Surprisingly he stayed very still and other than a turning of his head occasionally he wasn’t too horrified – mostly because we made it enjoyable for him. I think with a few more session we’ll be clipping his hair in no time!

Blitz also had a breakthrough the other day with my mom. She took him on his very first trailride alone! Like I mentioned Blitz really isn’t brave at all and going anywhere alone is a huge step for him. My mom felt comfortable enough that she thought it would be good experience for him. She said he was a bit nervous but behaved himself quite nicely. This is a great step because trail riding alone gives horses great confidence – if done properly. Horses are herd animals, so asking them to leave their comfort zone of the group is very stressful for them. But to have a horse that can go anywhere and do anything alone is wonderful. I’ve been fortunate to be able to train most of my horses to be this way – and both of our young guys are well on their way to being able to do this too.

-KD
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