Wednesday, January 25, 2012

the big scary

Stick. Look at it. It reeks evilness. It was clearly about to transform into a mountain lion, or worse, the minute a horse gets within feet of the stick. It was purely wicked. How any horse could let that stick come near them was beyond Shyloh, it was the scariest thing in the whole arena! 
Could be a magic wand? No. . .
I held this stick in my hand and said touch. I had my clicker and a cut up carrot at the ready. Shy had been great about touching anything. But this stick was the exception. I said touch again. Shy walked around the arena and touched everything we previously touched in previous days. It was cute and quite smart of her, but not what I was asking.

Shy would not touch the stick. I tossed it on the ground. Shy tentatively walked up to it and touched it. Click and treat. After a few touches with the stick on the ground, it became clear that this was the only way she would touch it.  I tried various ways to get her to touch the stick while I was holding it. 
Shy can shake her halter and lead rope, but not touch the stick.
I put it on the ground and said touch. She did, so I clicked. As I was treating I bent down to pick up the stick and Shy trotted away. I dropped the stick and tried again. Next time, she touched the stick, I clicked, and she didn't even wait for the carrot. She was off! I tried following her with the stick to give her the carrot. No luck. I tried for a while to get her to touch this stick. She would circle me. She would stand behind me. She went off and touched things that she has gotten treats for touching before. Shy refused to touch the stick if I had it in my hand, even if it was pointed to the ground.
Not coming any closer.
So I went to my last resort and put her halter back on and attached the lead. We worked on getting closer and closer to the stick. I picked it up. Shy tried to walk off, but couldn't. She didn't fight it, though. I could tell she was scared, but she was trusting me to not let her get hurt. I held the stick out. I said touch. Very very gently, Shy lengthened her neck and stretched her lips all the way out to the big scary stick. She barely grazed it, but I clicked and treated. We did this a few times until she was comfortable with the stick and even put it in her mouth. 

Whew. We overcame the stick! It was not evil after all. It was just a simple stick. Not magical in any way. Not about to shapeshift into a ferocious velociraptor. Not evil. Just a stick that a horse, who is much bigger than it, can over take with a little patience and some treats.

As a plus, Shy finished her Hanging Ball. I was able to get most of the sticky off her face with some warm water and paper towel. I think she was relieved that it was coming off because she let scrub her face. It might have been pulling on her beard hairs, but if not, it was still cemented in there pretty good. I think the next Hanging Ball will have to wait until summertime, when I can give her a bath!
Brown nose is gone!

15 comments:

  1. I am glad the stick is no longer scary. Pippi was terrified of milk jug, tho it had rocks in it. We used it to make weird noises so when she went to shows she wouldn't freak so much.

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    1. I am always trying to get Shy used to new things so they are not scary. I am hoping it works when we start trail riding.

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  2. Pippin here, and I'm with you about those scary things. One just never knows when hidden danger lurks. Humans just don't get it. Why yesterday I saw a crushed Coke can. I took my Mrs. Owner away from that in a hurry. That can could cut someone if they weren't careful!!
    You are brave, indeed, to actually touch that stick!

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    1. Thanks Pippin! Danger could be everywhere. Better to be super careful than to get hurt or eaten!

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    1. If only! Then Shy would not have a problem with it at all!

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  4. I laughed really hard reading this. What a smart horse, and what a great sign that she trusts you so much. It's funny what they're scared of sometimes. I'm new to the blog so I don't know Shy's history, but it makes you wonder if someone smacked her with a stick at some point. Good work overcoming the evil stick of doom!

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    1. Thanks! I am not too sure about her history, either. She is scared of things, but seems to get over it pretty quickly, then usually isn't scared of them again.

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  5. Do you think she has had bad experiences with whips or something?

    Haha my clicker trained horse does that sometimes when I ask something he is not comfortable with... it's like well I wont do that but I can do this! It is pretty awesome huh? You could click for that?

    It is a good learning experience :)

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    1. I think she may have been generally abused. I have been working with the lunge whip with her and she is not afraid of that at all anymore.It is amazing to see how smart she is and how she can put stuff together. Fun for both of us.

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  6. That's cute that she tried everything else first. Maybe she had a bad experience with sticks sometime or maybe they are just scary on their own. Scarface can be scared of anything. Mostly the far end of an arena or animals in places they aren't supposed to be. Our second-last big spook was a dog in the viewing area of an arena. That area is for people only I guess!

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    1. Its funny how they get things in there head about the way things are "supposed" to be and when they change, it can be upseting.

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  7. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she had been abused before. Faran is the same way about whips only he won't even come near it with it on the ground. He reacts violently to them. Actually he's gotten a lot better just watching Chrome interact with the whip. I guess seeing him chase it in our Chase The Tiger game and earning treats is teaching him to not be afraid. Who said horses don't learn from watching?? :D

    I'm glad she overcame her fear. Clicker training works wonders for fear. :)

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