# desensitizing work for parades



## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Llamas. Does he do llamas? Our Christmas parade had a couple who dressed their llamas up and led them in the parade. 

Fire trucks and 18-wheeler wreckers. We followed the 18-wheeler wrecker with EVERY light flashing in a Christmas parade. 

Sorry to hear about your shoulder!!

Nancy


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

Believe it or not, we are llama proof!!!
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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

Trucks, cars, flashing lights/sirens, kids, throwing objects, objects hitting both horse, cart and ground, screaming, yelling, clapping in blind spots, bells, whistles, etc, etc. These are things I've experienced in parades both in and out of the cart. I was especially glad I worked on the whole "objects hitting horse, cart and ground" with my horse! Sorry about the shoulder but hopefully you'll be back soon!


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

I tore the cartridge in my right shoulder. The repair was pretty simple, but the recovery sucks! Extremely painful & 3 months of not using my arm. I'm right handed to top it off. All training & riding is off the table for most of this year. 
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## nitapitalou (Jan 20, 2014)

I feel for you littrella! Take it easy for that duration, or you will be right back where you started! I did a shoulder surgery with all sorts of complications a few years back. Behave and listen to your doctor!

To add to the preparedness list, a few tidbits from other drivers I have spoken too:

Mylar balloons
Mules (for some reason I have had this issue with saddle horses, they completely loose their minds at the sight of a mule, but are okay with donkeys)
Man hole lids
Speaker squelch 

Plus all the listed from others.

Hope you heal up quickly and completely!!!


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

Thanks.  I'm trying my best to not do much. Hubby and the kids are taking good care of me. I forgot to mention that I drive with my mini donk. So I have to worry about us freaking out others!
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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

When I was preparing for Sour's first parade, I hauled her and all of her driving gear to the large parking lot that the parade lineup starts at, did a precursory lap with her in hand, and tacked her up. Then I had my instructor lead her hitched up while I sat in the cart, then we did some work in the cart once I felt like she was comfortable and my instructor used her truck to drive past us, honk, wave, blast her radio, etc so that I knew how she'd respond in a brand new places after being unloaded, tacked, and tossed into a stressful situation.

I made the rule for myself that if she spooked at ANYTHING or seemed just too uptight- I would not take her to that parade and I'd do more work with her first. I also had my instructor walk beside her at our first parade, to sort of 'spot' us and give me advice.

But ultimately...you can't guarentee your horse (or donkey) will react perfectly to everything or have seen everything. For example, when one of our parades backed up a bit and we were at a standstill in front of the crowds, one lady just ran up, THREW her little girl on Sour's back WHILE she was hitched, and tried to get someone to take a photo! Luckily Sour didn't even bat an eye despite not liking kids or having EVER had a kid on her back, but people can really can be obnoxious. 

The only thing that did surprise Sour, and I had no way to prepare her for this, was going over railroad tracks. She was great with the speed bumps, man holes, changes in concrete, etc- but she danced just a bit when she saw those tracks.

Oh, and she found a man-crush to flirt with in Line Up...a GIANT 1 ton Percheron gelding. It was hilarious but she was a bit loose. I think she peed 5 times in that 30 minutes. Make sure Danee is OK with standing still while in line for a long time!


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

The mental picture of Sour & her "crush" is exactly what I needed tonight! Lol I can't stop giggling! Once I get healed up, I plan on taking him to a local public arena for some practice. Thanks for all the ideas everyone
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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

:lol: It was pretty amusing, but also mildly embarrassing. She wasn't really misbehaving so I couldn't correct her...just flagging him over and making sure he realized she wouldn't mind if he hopped in her trailer when the parade was done. LOL. I guess as long as he didn't stay for breakfast. I bet he eats a ton. I'd never seen her act like that in my life, and the Percheron looked quite shocked. And here I thought I'd brought up a nice, well rounded mare who knew who was in her bracket and who wasn't.

Hope you get well soon and we need PICTURES when you do get him into a parade!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

The one parade we were in they had the horses following the fire truck and for some brilliant reason they thought it'd be a good idea to turn the siren on... No one died and luckily my mare was an angel and they shut it off quickly, but NOT a smart move (I freaked out! lol)

Grabbing kids, balloons, crowded areas.

I've never done a real parade either just near my house.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Clowns, Santas, the shriners.... Mine never had issues with anything but walking costumed people and those little Shriner cars made them start every time.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I rode my mare in the Calgary Stampede Parade. I never consciously desensitised her to anything. The only conscious thing we did was my getting her to walk thro a mud puddle. It took a few rides and another horse going thro first. When she finally did it she seemed to put her trust in me. She handled the parade like a pro.


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## DoubleJ2 (Feb 12, 2011)

Three things that scared my driving pony were bikes, plastic bags, and streets that were whitewashed (writing on the street)


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## Southern Grace (Feb 15, 2013)

Introduce him to anything and everything you can. The goal is not to desensitize him to the _things_ themselves, but to teach him how to react and behave when something does scare him. There will always be something new, and in all of my years driving commercially, parades have always had the most monsters. But when you're horse is scared out of his wits and yet manages to not go forward, left, right, or backwards to get away from it, you've done your job well.

As for the actual scariest things we've come across, skateboards shooting at you're horse's feet when the person on said board falls ranks as the worst. Balloons and bells tied to bikes, that also fall were pretty high up, as was the giant inflatable Dalmatian (the kind that is held by 25 people you see in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade) and actual, live bears walking behind us all had me and my horse on our toes. And yes, your boy is likely to get hit with candy, and you will also have kids darting out in the road in front of you to pick up candy on the road, oblivious to the equine coming their way. And have a passenger with you to smile and wave for all of the kids, you will be looking for prospective monsters with both hands on the lines the whole time.


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

LOL! That was one of the best descriptions ever!!!
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## Diamond S (Aug 6, 2014)

I have taken many horses in parades. I always take my horses "to town" many times to see the sights and hear the sounds before I take them in parades. There are many things that can spook them that you won't even think of beforehand (like manhole covers, etc.) Good luck, but take your time.


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## KodasSlvrWings (Feb 5, 2014)

I generally like to desensitize my horse at least once a week. I'm constantly doing ground work because I'm a firm believer of "groundwork transfers into saddle". I've ridden in a few parades with my horses and they all did exceptionally well with no real parade prepping. I do a lot with my horses and expect them to take care of me while I am on their back, so if a scary object comes flying at them I want them to be prepared. I make loud noises with pots and pans, make them lunge with tarps on their backs, tie plastic bags to their halter, ect ect. If I see something at home or the store that I think "hey! That might be scary to a horse!" I take it out to the barn with me the next time I go and make a lesson out of it. Just today I took a big bright red bouncy ball with me and bounced it all around them, under them, and on them. They are now to the point that things like this just don't bother them, they give me this look like really? Lol! Of course everything is introduced slowly, first I let them check it out and then slowly I rub it all over them while giving them reassuring pats and praises and then once they are calm and sure of themselves I move onto the harder to handle things.
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