In this clinic we will help your horse become brave and confident. All of the despooking work will be done in a gradual way without overwhelming your horse in order to build his confidence and trust in you as his leader. We will start the clinic from the ground. The horses that are progressing well on the ground will be able to move on to mounted despooking.
The methods and items used in this clinic will be very similar to the way Ed trains horses for mounted police work and television / movie work.
We will progress through numerous short sessions of despooking gradually working up to scarier items as the horses are able to accept them - a towel, small plastic bag, larger plastic bag or feed bag, rain coat, bag of cans, tarp, flag, aluminum foil, plastic jug with rocks, an umbrella, cymbals, drums, flares, fireworks and possibly gunfire blanks.
Despooking done incorrectly can be counter-productive and actually result in teaching your horse to be afraid and flee rather than be confident, relaxed and calmly accepting scary things.
The goal in all despooking is that you never frighten your horse to the point that his feet move. Your job is to build his courage and to increase his trust in you, not to make him afraid. This means you must proceed slowly (not sneaky but casual) and with lots of retreat when he is calmly accepting. You should pay close attention and be able to read the horse’s body language and energy.
If your horse is handling everything well, we may progress to working on the same techniques while mounted.
By the end of the clinic you will have developed a much more trusting relationship and partnership with your horse. He should then be bravely accepting many items and extreme sensory input from which he may have been previously frightened. This will result in safer, more productive and pleasant riding.
Ed Dabney has many years of experience in helping horses become more courageous and confident in high stress circumstances through his extensive work with mounted police and military units in the US and Europe.
About Ed Dabney - https://www.eddabney.com/background.htm
We are excited to offer the "Pumpkin Spice Spirit Award" to the best dressed fall/halloween themed participant or auditor!
