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Re: [RC] de spooking/trainers - Stacy Sadarfourdays@xxxxxxxx wrote: >"I've been wondering: A lot of people on ridecamp talk of being thrown off their >spooked horses ( who seem in large part to be Arabs which certainly gives the poor >breed a bad press!) It has led me to wonder if putting a bridle with blinders on it, like >harness horses wear, would make the horse settle down and be forced to trust the >rider more and wait for the rider's queues - without the constant distraction of seeing >such predators as potholes, logs, and roadside trash around them. Just a thought" Around here, we have a man who rides his horses and has always trained them with not just blinders but complete coverage over their eyes so they are "blind". Everyone calls him "Crazy John" because he rides these horses down one of the busiest country roads with tractor trailers zooming by, etc. I'm talking a road with all
the developments going up around the area that cause 30-40 vehicles to pass you in a moment at 45-55 mph. Crazy John's take on it is that if the horse can't see ANYTHING and only hears these monsters, the horse can't react to them without the rider's cue. Horse must listen to the rider and respond to the rider's cues or he can't see to go anywhere. Once the horse is trained to his specifications then he will remove the blinders so the horse can now see what he has been hearing without being scared. Horse continues to take the cues from the rider as taught with trucks zooming by. You'll see John grazing his horse at the end of a driveway right by the road and all of a sudden a big dump truck will barrel on by at 60mph and that horse will never lift his head. It's worked for him for years...crazy or not. Stacy
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