Encouraging the Herd’s Braveness and Independence
HGE student Paula is a current Horse Guided Empowerment Facilitator-in-Training. Below she shares her experience introducing a new object to the herd as a way to encourage braveness, curiosity and independence.
“Today I decided to take a new object to the herd – an umbrella. I carried the closed umbrella into the paddock, and once I was close to the herd I opened it. Upon opening the umbrella, the mares spooked wildly, they observed from a distance and then fled to the edge of the paddock. I felt that the noise made them very uncomfortable, especially the way that I introduced the umbrella in the paddock
I waited 10-15 minutes before approaching the herd again and opening the umbrella. They had the same reaction: they looked at it from where they were standing, formed a circle and then ran to the edges of the paddock. The mares didn’t investigate around the object, nor did they seem to tolerate it.
How could I continue introducing this object? Is it best to do this one-on-one with each horse?”
An umbrella is an interesting challenge, one that almost always causes fear and spooking! When introducing a foreign and “scary” object to the herd, it is important to find the right pace so that these exercises do not have the opposite effect on the herd.
Below are some techniques to help your horse or herd get used to a particular object, in this case an umbrella. Experiment with them all and see which works best for your herd!
- Walk between the horses with the umbrella in a calm, natural way; play with it, and get close to the more brave horses.
- It is useful to open the umbrella close to them, but only slightly. Later you can touch them with the close umbrella, and then move and open it a bit.
- Try having a horse on a long line to motivate them to return to you and not permit that they flee completely
- Offering a carrot near the object offers positive reinforcement and encourages them to approach, sniff and tolerate the object
- Move the umbrella slightly, even lifting it above your head and the horses´ head to increase the challenge, once they are accustomed to it.
Sometimes, the herd can get excited about running. In this case you can practice this with the most brave/curious horses separately. If they all flee at once and don’t turn around to look, the exercise won’t help. We don’t want to teach them to flee, but rather to show curiosity around the object.
Your body language also plays a role in this exercise. For example, if you’re nervous and anticipating the herd spooking, it’s likely they will do just that. Taking a deep breath and displaying calmness will show them that this is a perfectly natural and non-threatening interaction with the object. This can make a big difference!
I recommend spending no more than 15 minutes per day on this. With patience, your herd can learn how to react in a more curious and brave manner to new objects, leading them to be more independent and tolerant in the face of uncertainty. Good luck!
How have you encouraged braveness in your herd?
Leave a reply below with an anecdote or tip.
