What I do to de-spook my horses is hang a plastic
tarp in the doorway of their stall or shelter, hang plastic bags, empty feed
bags, milk jugs on trees, fences, in the stalls, etc. These items all get blown
around & are very scary at first, but eventually, being exposed to so much,
the horses become curious, then bored by it all. They will go under the tarps to
get their feed, they will stick their heads inside empty paper feed bag (they
smell so good), they will pull them off, step on them, drag them around, and
when they get blown up in their face, they just don't seem to care anymore. I
also throw a tarp on the ground and put a small pile of hay on it for them
to eat. When I'm on the trail, there are some areas where I
know noises will scare them, so I make funny noises myself, like chickens
clucking, rasberries, goats bleating, there's an air conditioner unit that comes
on sometimes, so when I pass there I make an engine noise. I've never had the
horses get startled about the noises in the bushes, 'cause they've heard it all
so many times from me. It's all worth trying.
