On 2/4/07, Robyn Hood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Hi Janice, > >I must be a sorta hybrid sacking outer then. I do the obstacle course > >thing, familiarization, let them discover it and inspect it, but with > >my Jaspar who was phobic, I had to find a way to let him know the > > How did you do that?
After he broke several of my bones in our first year under saddle (green plus green equals black and blue) and then our second year under saddle gashed his chest open rearing and falling sideways and landing on the trailer door while some men at a campground cranked him into the trailer with a chain over his nose like he was being winched while I was at the front of the truck vomiting and sobbing, he broke my occiptal bone and cracked my cheek bone in a fall and then the bottom actually, was when he jumped sideways because another horse spooked in the dark after a moonlit ride on the beach and broke my collar bone and three ribs and it took five people to manhandle him into the trailer while he was slipping and thrashing and going down. I had six weeks off work to think about things. I contacted a man who is paid by one person to manage her large herd of very expensive working quarterhorses. He said he would come help me for nothing but I gave him 20 bucks. Gosh if I won the lotto I would give him a million. He taught me how to desensitize Jaspar and instead of trying to avoid things he was afraid of to give him unlimited opportunity to investigate it. He sacked him out, a little, but stepped outside the roundpen and just directed me on what to do. His methods are very gentle and insightful. Jaspar was a horse that had been saddled and ridden for two years who was still terrified of dropping a lead rope over his back. And I didnt know anything was wrong with that! Can you imagine?? It took six months of constant work on desensitization, sacking out the correct way, so the horse ends up thinking oh, the scarey thing isnt scarey at all, instead of oh, scarey things do exist and I must stand petrified til they go away. I really know in my heart it was the best thing for him, he got what he needed, and it was done correctly. Because the proof is in the results. he is afraid of things all the time but trusts me and doesnt lose his head. Ironically last time he hurt me? In a sudden downpour I stepped into the trailer to adjust his hay bag and he loaded himself, but just as I was hopping out he hopped in, his back foot slipped and he went down, slamming me into the trailer wall! But it never ocurred to me he would load himself even tho he had been great about loading for years. he honestly is the best horse in the world now. Janice -- yipie tie yie yo
