One of the most important things …  and this is something that you must teach your horse, is to TRUST you.

If your horse is worried that you will hurt him or make him do things that may put him in danger, you won’t have a willing partner.  Your horse needs to be relaxed and happy at all times, otherwise he just won’t learn very much (if anything) at all.

Do you trust each other?

You can teach your horse to get used to just about anything… flapping bags, fluttering plastic sheeting, open umbrellas, water, loud noises, by introducing them slowly to each of these elements.  I highly recommend that you do this because it will benefit you both in the long run.

But there may come a time when your horse encounters something he has never seen or heard before.  If he trusts you and has become used to you introducing him to new things, he will deal more easily and calmly with new objects and situations.  If you show him that you believe it is okay and you are trustworthy, then your horse will believe it is okay.

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It’s amazing what you can use to teach your horse new tricks or to get them used to just about anything.  I’m always on the lookout for cheap and fun items to use as my trick training equipment.

Fun trick equipment

I really like to use Pool Noodles to get my horses used to things that move and brush against them.  Trigger is happy to eat his feed while these colourful noodles lightly bang against him and fly around on windy days.  This helps when I am out riding and we are moving through some thick bush – he doesn’t mind at all if branches brush against him.  He is also good when strange objects flap in the wind.

To get him used to the Pool Noodles I just started by tying up one (on a calm day).  At first he was wary of it but his feed was just there and it didn’t take him long to move past it to his feed bin.  He still kept an eye on it though!

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