What’s the handset or most convenient thing you’ve taught your horse?

Can be anything, ground work, under saddle at liberty, etc..

I focus a lot on densensitizing my animals. I want to feel comfortable around them and when I have people over who don’t have much interaction with large animals, I want to feel safe with them being around them. I work on this by introducing as many bizarre things as possible at any given opportunity until every time we run across something weird I see the “not this again, mom” look instead of the “OH MY GOD ITS GOING TO EAT ME” look.

We were at a fun show and one of the classes was musical sacks. Just like musical chairs, except it’s feed sacks on the ground. When the music stops you OR your horse must be touching a feed sack. (Note: this was in the middle of a woods with a bunch of hilljacks (lovingly) who don’t always abide by the strictest rules of horsemanship) well, the first round, music stops, and my lovely boy walks to the closest bag and plants his feet directly in the middle like he has played this game before. I was like, huh okay.

I look around and the arena is CHAOS. loose horses, horses stepping in circles around bags, refusing to touch them, people baling off to get their sacks and losing their horses. Absolute unsafe reign of terror.

And we are just standing there - center of the circus, on our sack, not moving a muscle, waiting for the music to start again.

What’s the handset or most convenient thing you’ve taught your horse?

Can be anything, ground work, under saddle at liberty, etc..

This is something that is definitely handy,

Teaching your horse tools to remain calm in different situations is such a huge deal.

You never know what the next “spooky” or “stressful” thing will be for your equine.

Having a go to positive and safe action to help change or redirect the reaction to whatever situations you might come across!

My main mare (reign) knows to touch her side (or where my foot would be if I was riding her) when things start to make her anxious.

Almost as if she’s checking in with me, but the concept is the same. It’s a go to behaviour that also gives you a bit more control if for some reason something goes south!

First trim ever!! She has some fun event lines on all four feet from a likely bit of laminitis 8-12 months ago, which is right around when she shipped across the country SUPER skinny and had a sudden change in nutrient availability lmaoooo