Training a Sensitive Horse
Adapt to Your Horse's Sensitivity Level When Riding
Although your muscles might breathe a sigh of relief when you encounter a very sensitive horse, this can be just as difficult as riding a horse with a lack of sensitivity. Reason being, a sensitive horse requires a serious adjustment of both natural and artificial aids.
Judging Sensitivity
Whenever you mount a new horse with whom you have no experience, your first instinct should be to evaluate him for sensitivity. This means that your initial cues should be understated, slowly building in intensity until you receive a response. Don't worry about training yet; you can always correct sensitivity issues later.
A sensitive horse will likely lunge forward from the slightest tap of your heels or slam on the breaks at the touch of a rein. To avoid this, you'll need to deliver the lightest, most considerate cues possible to keep him in line. This means discarding all unnecessary artificial aids to rely only on your hands, seat, leg and voice.
Controlling Your Body
A rider with a sensitive horse must be able to control every part of her body independently. You will need to become highly cognizant of what your hands, thighs, calves, heels and seat are doing at all times. This might mean stepping up your exercise regiment to gain better control of your muscles.
On some horses, if your leg swings back and forth at the canter, you won't encounter any negative consequences. With a sensitive horse, however, such tiny movements as these will cause an immediate reaction, and you'll wind up with a severely agitated and high-strung horse.
How to Cope
One of the easiest ways to manage a sensitive horse is to consider every movement before you make it. Rather than riding on auto pilot, so to speak, pretend you are working with a precocious two-year-old child. Think about everything before you do it, and carefully plan how you will deliver a command.
Careful planning will help you to exaggerate your movements on a sensitive horse. Furthermore, you can give small indications that you plan to ask for a transition or other movement so the horse is prepared. A smartly-delivered half-halt, for example, is a great way to warn a sensitive horse that a change is coming.
Desensitizing the Sensitive Horse
Many horse trainers participate in an activity called desensitization, or "sacking out". This practice is highly controversial, but only because some trainers take it too far. When approached with a reasonable expectation for results, this can work wonders with a sensitive horse.
For your safety, desensitization should always be conducted in a small round pen. Over the course of an hour or so, introduce new and "scary" objects to the sensitive horse, letting him touch and smell them. These items will serve to desensitize him to external stimuli:
- Plastic bags
- Brightly-colored scarves
- Brooms, mops and other long-handled devices
- Blue or green tarpaulin
- Noisemakers
Keep in mind, however, that a sensitive horse will likely always be sensitive, whether you spend time sacking out or not. The only question is the degree of sensitivity with which the horse moves forward. The goal here is not to "deaden" the horse to cues and commands, but to make subsequent rides as smooth and seamless as possible.
Sensitive Horse
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