# Trail Riding General Discussion



## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

Just thought I'd write this thread. 
How did you guys desensitize your horse to dogs and whatnot? The only good place I'll be able to ride on right away when Toby comes home is our dirt road. One dirextion, id run the risk of dogs coming after me and out in the road, but at the end of that way are some horses. The other way, a dog is tied up 100m from the road or so, barks like crazy, but never comes out. But that way, at the end of that road, 1/2 a mile away, Is a very busy road. The former way, I'd only have 1/4 of a mile or less. How do u desensitize my horse to those crazy dogs? (Actually, Buddy is really nice, but follows me EVERYWHERE, while Wolfie (don't actually know his name, we just call him that) will come to the edge of the road and bark, but I would t put it beyond him to chase Toby)

Just let me know! 

Also, I think Toby is rather fearful, so I will need to train hi with cars too and other things. Suggestions welcome!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## loveduffy (Dec 22, 2011)

if you could with the cars sometime just stand with him, not too close to the road so he get to see that they will not hurt him, for the dogs will they bit him? If not them what I do is turn my horse towered the dog and chase them back so my horse feel that he is in control this is what works for me hope it helps


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

If the dogs come to the edge of your property(If I read that correctly) then work him there and let him see the dogs aren't going to eat him. 


Edited and added another post with better idea below.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Thinking back on my idea and it could be a bad idea as you could be teaching the horse that all it has to do is act nervous and you will stop making him work.

Maybe work him somewhere close to the traffic without being dangerously close to the traffic and let him get used to paying attention to you while all that racket is going on nearby.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Hand walk him up and down that road once or twice a day. Stop at scary things and show them to him. Don't pass it until he relaxes enough so that he wouldn't be unsafe under saddle. Start exposing him to scary things as home, hula hoops, noodles, garbage cans, loud noises, balls being pushed towards them (dogs!)/over/under, car horns, engines, other animals... Whatever. The more you expose a horse to the less they will be afraid of when something new comes at them. For example when you horse doesn't give a hoot at a ball rolling at him quickly a dog isn't much different, or a garbage can. I guarantee they will, at worst, spook less then they would have if not exposed to those things.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

SlideStop said:


> Hand walk him up and down that road once or twice a day. Stop at scary things and show them to him. Don't pass it until he relaxes enough so that he wouldn't be unsafe under saddle. Start exposing him to scary things as home, hula hoops, noodles, garbage cans, loud noises, balls being pushed towards them (dogs!)/over/under, car horns, engines, other animals... Whatever. The more you expose a horse to the less they will be afraid of when something new comes at them. For example when you horse doesn't give a hoot at a ball rolling at him quickly a dog isn't much different, or a garbage can. I guarantee they will, at worst, spook less then they would have if not exposed to those things.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I was thinking this at first also, but the more I think about it the more that seems to teach the horse to act scared anytime they don't want to do something and we won't make them. 

I was also going to add the part about desensitizing with loud noises and such at home(which I kinda agree with), but not much for a lot of the other stuff in an unnatural way. I have large pieces of visqueen stuck on tree limbs all over top of the hay bale and along the fence line tree limbs to get them used to seeing and hearing plastic flapping in the wind. I do not go walking around them with a milk jug full of rocks or throwing rabbits at them(extreme I know,lol). 

When I've ridden them in new areas where they have spooked, mind you I am by no means a professional trainer, I deal with them then and there on getting over that fear so they know to trust me and let me make those decisions rather than them worrying about whats around the next bend.

So far I have been successful in this method and the last several rides we've gone on in unknown territory they have not spooked at anything that ran across the trail just in front of them, big rocks on the side of the path or even the bale of hay at the end of the road. Things that similarly spooked them before. I would say it has a lot to do with us getting to know each other on the trail and in the yard. 


Like I stated earlier, I'm not a trainer outside of my own horses and could be wrong on my approach, but it is working for us. One of the horses was the flight type of spooker and the other was a in place spooker so it wasn't just one or the other that I was dealing with.

I suggest you trying a few different ways until you find one that is comfortable for you and your horse then be CONSISTENT!!! I read and watched several different ways to do it and pulled a little out of each one that was working for us.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Roadyy said:


> Thinking back on my idea and it could be a bad idea as you could be teaching the horse that all it has to do is act nervous and you will stop making him work.
> 
> Maybe work him somewhere close to the traffic without being dangerously close to the traffic and let him get used to paying attention to you while all that racket is going on nearby.


Horse are prey animals, they are nervous by nature. So if you approach a yard with barking dogs walk past it, let the horse do his spook, stand there until he is calm with the dogs running and barking then continue down the road. Turn around and return to the barking dogs. Repeat the same steps as the first time. Then again, and again, and again, until your horse just walks by calmly. 

I don't see how that is teaching your horse to be nervous or how he is avoiding work. Being nervous is an instinctual gift given to horses (and not so much their humans) to keep them alive.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I keep 2 dogs (60lb and 70lb, respectfully) who have been raised around my older horses before they died. My 3 horses have been kept with these two dogs since 2008. My dogs run with the horses and bark at them and my horses are not afraid of dogs.
You need to have another horse person with a horse-respectful and OBEDIENT dog to help you. If necessary have them handle the dog on a leash and use approach and retreat.
I KNOW that if I go trail riding in a strange place my horses will turn and chase a foreign dog. Unless there is a good sized pack, most dogs will run when the horse chases.
A dog's instincts to chase kick in if your horse panics and runs. And, of course, the horse wants YOU off his back so he can get away from the predator. It is well worth the training.
Pgy and Cuppin Cakes

BOth dogs--Rose and Pgy--I desenstize to E V E R T H I N G!!

Better picture of Rose


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

I chased the dogs with my horse to get him over his fear. Two or three times of 'chasing' the dogs as if they were mini-cows, and my horse is completely over it. He knows that he can push them around and move their feet, barking or not, so he's 'in charge' of them and they just can't be scary any more.

Now, my horse was nervous about it the first couple of times, but we have built a relationship over the past two years where he gives me the benefit of the doubt when I ask him to do something he thinks is nuts. So, he was not happy about it, but I directed him, and with a lot of leg, got him to go up to and get in the dogs' face. Very few dogs will do anything to a horse that is (from the dogs' point of view) getting in their face and challenging them. When it comes down to it, horses are WAY bigger than dogs. That also puts the scary thing in front of the horse so that kicking or bolting or biting at heels is far less likely to happen.

None of these interactions were planned, and none of them were with known dogs, but the option was face off with the random stray dogs and get them to back off and teach my horse chill out about dogs, or risk trying to ignore the dog, have it run up behind us and/or bite, and wind up with my horse bolting or worse. Now days if a dog suddenly appears, he'll startle like if anything suddenly appears, but once he knows it's a dog, he just keeps an eye on it without worrying or getting tense (wondering if we're going to herd it, I'll wager). We've gone on a couple trail rides with dogs now too, and that, with horse-trained/respectful dogs was sort of the final step in dog training my guy. Now they're old hat.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

SlideStop said:


> Horse are prey animals, they are nervous by nature. So if you approach a yard with barking dogs walk past it, let the horse do his spook, stand there until he is calm with the dogs running and barking then continue down the road. Turn around and return to the barking dogs. Repeat the same steps as the first time. Then again, and again, and again, until your horse just walks by calmly.
> 
> I don't see how that is teaching your horse to be nervous or how he is avoiding work. Being nervous is an instinctual gift given to horses (and not so much their humans) to keep them alive.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I would keep him walking past the dogs rather than to stand there waiting for him to get used to it. Yes, I would walk him back and forth by them until he stops paying them any attention just like I do with the bale of hay in the ditch or the big rock just off the trail. I do not stop and let them decide it isn't going to eat them. I prove to them it is not going to eat them by getting them closer and closer to it at each pass.

My reasoning is I want him to follow my directions when he spooks rather than his own directions while I'm on his back. If I let him stop while he is spooked until he decides its ok then I just put him in charge of my decisions and that is unacceptable for my safety.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Ok, I agree with free running dogs and facing them with the horse. I have no arguement there.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Roadyy said:


> I would keep him walking past the dogs rather than to stand there waiting for him to get used to it. Yes, I would walk him back and forth by them until he stops paying them any attention just like I do with the bale of hay in the ditch or the big rock just off the trail. I do not stop and let them decide it isn't going to eat them. I prove to them it is not going to eat them by getting them closer and closer to it at each pass.
> 
> My reasoning is I want him to follow my directions when he spooks rather than his own directions while I'm on his back. If I let him stop while he is spooked until he decides its ok then I just put him in charge of my decisions and that is unacceptable for my safety.


Gotcha, well to each their own. Yours work for you. Mine worked for my spook and spinner. :wink:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I'm glad you didn't ask about how to train against mountain lions on the trail. 'O'
Guess you dismount and shoot 'em in the head.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Trusty was the type to try and turn and head the opposite direction or back up when I first got him. I would work him until he was facing the direction of the scary object and only allow that to be the easy way to go. Any other option was wrong and included a lot of work. He finally would go past it and that was where I would go just far enough to feel him relax and turn him around to go back past whatever it was.


I completely understand that this does not work with all people or horses and never meant to come off as my way is the only way. I was merely stating that at this point with the 2 horses I have been recently working with this method has proven very effective.


I'm glad that we are able to find ways to help our horses work with us for the happy trail.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

When encountering vehicles, I think it is best to keep them moving. If they start to get nervous, fidgety, or anxious about the cars, they are focusing too much on the cars. Change the horses direction, do figure 8's, or something to get their focus back on you. I think I would do the same for dogs. Teach them to ignore the scary things.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

Ok thanks guys!! It's all been really helpful. I guess I could start with my calm 65 lb dog (he'd probably be afraid of the horses-LOL!! No seriously-my guinea pig wa lying on my bed, with my dog, and my dog just laid down and could care less=D), and gradually move up to my crazy 10 lb dog that would eat said guinea pig If given tiny opportunity. And I suppose, since the pasture will be starting about 5m from our quiet road, they will get used to cars. At his current house, they drive tractors around in the pasture and the horses don't really care. It's just the dogs and other things that worry me...Toby seems like a spooky kind of horse. He TOTALLY freaked out when I put my jacket on while sitting on him, but i could have avoided it, so I don't blame him. I just didn't want to get off my 16.2 hh horse and struggle to get back on my 5'2 self
Anyways, I'll try those things. I really liked the idea of having plastic tied to stuff so they don't get scared. I could do that with other stuff, right? Like leave a hula-hoop near the pasture, and drive the car around the driveway nearby?

Thanks for the advice!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

You could do all of those things. The hoola hoop laying around in the pasture isn't really going to do anything to desensitize Toby. I would be more apt to hanging it from a tree or from the ceiling in the hall way just over his head so he doesn't get hung in it, so to speak. 

If you have a riding mower then ride it all over the pasture around him so he gets accustomed to motor sounds up close to him if that is the path you want to take.
You say he is a spooky horse...meaning a flight spook or in place spook? Does he take off wildly getting away from what scares him?



I know some people talk about using tarp to make a tarp monster out in the pasture....you can look in the training section to find out about other techniques on that.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Corporal said:


> I'm glad you didn't ask about how to train against mountain lions on the trail. 'O'
> Guess you dismount and shoot 'em in the head.


Why would you dismount? Horse shouldn't be gun shy if you take a gun with you...hahaha


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

Tobysthebesthorseever said:


> Ok thanks guys!! It's all been really helpful. I guess I could start with my calm 65 lb dog (he'd probably be afraid of the horses-LOL!!


One thing I've done to get dogs & horses used to each other is to groom them with the same brush, so that each has a bit of the other's smell on them, and they associate that with the pleasure of being brushed. 

Of course you can only apply this to your own or friends' dogs, not the barking critter down the road, but I think it does help the horses to learn that generic dogs aren't really threats.


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## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

jamesqf said:


> One thing I've done to get dogs & horses used to each other is to groom them with the same brush, so that each has a bit of the other's smell on them, and they associate that with the pleasure of being brushed.
> 
> Of course you can only apply this to your own or friends' dogs, not the barking critter down the road, but I think it does help the horses to learn that generic dogs aren't really threats.


That is a really good idea!!!


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## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

Roadyy- I think he is an in-place spooker. He's never bolted when I ride him, and he's spooked AT LEAST 3 times. The worst was the jacket incident, when he turned around really fast. Funnily enough, I wasn't really that scared, and my cousin(11y/o) was almost crying cuz she was scared. See, Toby had spun around, and his butt had hit patches (a glancing blow). Patches is who my cousin was riding, and she is such a calm horse, "J" had nothing to worry about. 

Anyways-I'll try all of these when the horses come home. When we get an atv I'll drive that around since we currently don't and probably won't have a riding lawn mower. 

Thanks for everything!


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Roadyy said:


> If you have a riding mower then ride it all over the pasture around him so he gets accustomed to motor sounds up close to him if that is the path you want to take.
> .


Great idea! Also have the horse follow it and then it follow the horse. That would simulate a quad one might encounter on a trail or backroad. A bicycle would be another object to use. Also a person with a backpack. One could use an umbrella...just something odd looking. A hiker with a big backpack can be a wierd looking thing coming down the trail.
You can't desensitize for everything but at least the more you do the more you know about your horse and his/her reaction. The older I get the more fond I am of being prepared...less possibility for injury. I really hate injury.


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## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

Horses seem to be afraid of EVERYTHING!!!! uuuugggghhhhhh......
it makes it alot harder to feel prepared to go out riding.
Yes, I understand WHY they are afraid of things.

Anyways-Thanks for everything!:happydance:


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Good Luck, Toby's Mom!

We have a Toby also. And he's the Best around here!


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

There are tons of videos on YT to help you teach the horse to keep their attention on you instead of everything around them.. If you get time them you should sit down and try to watch several of them to get some ideas that you can try.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Biscuit isn't afraid of dogs but he is not fond of dogs that run in and out around him. I just found out that his former owner's dog used to chase them in the pasture :shock: well, dang...that explained his dislike of my buddy's dog Bella!

There is lots of ways to get them used to dogs if they are never around them - but I think a dog just barking at a horse is one thing - if a dog ran threateningly at a horse might be a total different ball of wax. I think several people suggestion of "chasing" the dog would probably work for almost any but a vicious dog. LOL I have to work at Biscuit charging Bella when she starts to get on his last nerve and I can tell when he has ran out of "Bella" patience. He has kicked at her before too. So while he is not afraid of her, I know he would love to feel her blood on his hooves!

I did a bomb proof clinic with Biscuit last October and it really helped with getting Biscuit and me on the same page. I learned to not let him evade something he didn't want to do. Focusing on one obstacle at a time helped. Exposure to different noises, "strange" alien things popping up helped me as much as Biscuit!


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## Tobysthebesthorseever (Apr 12, 2013)

Dustbunny said:


> Good Luck, Toby's Mom!
> 
> We have a Toby also. And he's the Best around here!



LOL thanks!!!! I'm going to visit him today, so I can update later!!!


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I never actually consciously desensitize my horses to anything and as someone who spent most of my life in the UK riding on busy roads it probably sounds odd
What I do is expose them to life by never avoiding things, our barn is often noisy, I play a radio and CD's in there, I bang stuff around just in general and never apologise for making them 'jump because they have to get used to sudden things and in doing so develop self control.
We have 5 dogs who are a real pain because they do bark and run around (though never chase the horses - that is not allowed) we've had horses here that have never seen dogs before and they deal with them just fine
One thing I always notice is that if you expect a horse to spook then 9 times out of 10 it will because it picks up on your tension
Training your horse to listen to you and know when it shouldn't 'move its feet' and work on developing trust in you will work better than all the desensitizing because you can never cover all things you'll meet.
My horses will view their own field water tubs with some distrust when they get moved to another spot.


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## Fourteen (Jan 8, 2013)

I agree with Jaydee. Just be. Expect good behaviour, carry on as normal. 

Handwalking a horse down the road a few times is a good idea, as is charging an aggressive dog. But don't do these things until you have your horse rock-solid at home, listening and obeying. The road is no place to find holes in your training 

Also, know when to pick your battles, and when not to. Don't go down the road on a windy spring day for the first ride. There is no shame in getting off if you're not feeling confident in your ability to control a dangerous situation. You will always find a way to get back on later once the tension has passed. I once had to dismount a 16h horse during a bareback trail ride. I found a way back on


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