How not to star in a horse blooper, be in a an accident, or get bucked because of a wild spook

[princesslove920]

i go behind my horses all the time im not worried about getting stepped on or kicked. not to sound wierd but im always hugging her butt...its easier then the front end her head gets in the way.

[waterhorsez]

Ya if I ever tried this with my crazy arb I would end up in the hospital

[theJohanna666]

WOW, impressive I can do many similar things with my horses but not as many that you are able to..... I mean the boll, wow!

[opiumhorse]

@theJohanna666 I had the ball come in handy when I had a soccer ball kicked in the direction of my horse. Another time a kid threw a baseball to me while I was sitting on my horse talking to someone else.

[dandaj21]

I need to desensitize one of my horses to fly sprays (he gets really freaked out) and plastic bag sounds....any suggestions on how to do this best without causing massive stress on the horse and danger for me?

[opiumhorse]

@dandaj21 If the horse trusts you, then I would do the following: With the horse tied off, and you a safe distance away (to make the horse feel better), take the plastic bag out and sniff it loudly while the horse is watching. Once the horse is looking at you with all of its attention, take the bag and rub it against your chest in a circular motion. Sniff it, then rub it on yourself again. If the horse seems interested in sniffing the bag, especially if the horse tries to take a step toward

[opiumhorse]

@dandaj21 you, then hold the bag out where the horse can sniff it. If the horse seems satisfied, rub it against yourself some more, and then attempt to rub the horse with it, perhaps on the shoulder where the animal can see it. If it retreats, take a step back and rub it against yourself again. Once my horses are used to the bag itself, I rub it against myself while crinkling the plastic. Often the horse will want to sniff it again, as it is relearning the bag.

[opiumhorse]

@dandaj21 I have used this to teach many horses not to be afraid of any number of things. Now for the spray bottle, it requires a slightly different approach. Again, get the horses attention while it is at a safe distance from the bottle, and is tied off. Sniff the bottle, and then run it around your body, making a hissing sound to match the sound that comes from the bottle. Then sniff the bottle again loudly and begin rubbing in that circle motion against your person. If the horse seems

[opiumhorse]

@dandaj21 interested in sniffing the bottle, let it, then rub it against the horse. In order to be able to spray the horse with the spray bottle, you need to be able to touch it anywhere with your hand, that takes practice & patience. The horse has different zones on their body, and each attempt to enter that new zone may receive a different response, similar to how a human may let you shake their hand, but not touch their feet, or some other, more socially unacceptable area. Hope it helps.

[yunderup]

The ball boucing of the horse, ive done that once with a STB and stood there i was amazed!

[RidingTemptation]

It's also dangerous to let the lead line on the ground. He could step on it and hurt himself.

[opiumhorse]

@RidingTemptation Yes, I have covered this with many other people. I have taught my horses how to move around them, and use the technique to ground tie. If you watch my other videos, you will see how they move around them. You can literally teach a horse to do anything. Thanks for watching.

[RidingTemptation]

@opiumhorse I agree with that comment completely (that horses can learn anything). I was just brought up (in riding terms) in different perspective. I assume this is one of those things that can differ in the equestrian beliefs. :)

[opiumhorse]

@RidingTemptation The truth is, a leadrope or any other entanglement around the feet of a horse can cause it to trip and fall or otherwise hurt itself. I do a lot of rope work around my horse bodies, from head to hoof. Earlier this week I walked outside to get something out of my car, and looked up to see my sons horse (I am rubbing the flag on him in the video) standing with his head between the ropes of a swing in out front yard. I let them out to mow the yard for me (works great) and he

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse had gotten himself tangled up in the swing. He had stood there calmly while I was inside, waiting on me to come out and fix it. It is contrary to what a horse would normally do, but he has been with me since he was a colt, and has seen all of my older horses get tangled up, and they have been trained identically to wait for me to come fix it. I have come home to find my horses tangled up in fences, and once my horse had gotten his tail wrapped around a large tree branch.

[jwittrock16]

I really like what you have done here. More than anything I love the time and patience taken to really establish a positive, healthy, trusting relationship with your horses. I dislike that more people don't :(. Thank you for sharing your video and teaching with us.

[philsfan98]

I take care of 3 for my boss everyday but dont ride em

[opiumhorse]

The countdown has begun! My first book should be available for download from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble within the month! You can read it on your iphone, droid, kindle, or nook, and even on your PC if you download the right app from their sites.

[94gunsmoke]

ok to clarify last comment: it was positive. getting around the whole 'better safe than sorry' and 'kick first nicker apologies later' is the smart way to do things. Horses have actually more sense than we sometimes give then credit for...

[94gunsmoke]

man, you got that horse stoned and it had da munchies thats why never got distracted from grass. or apple-flavored (or carrot flavored?) grass, that's the gimmick

, no jk jk jk, that horse is awesomely self assured and trusting, o gimmicks. like those horses that sit, Not prey if no predator so why behave like prey

[CHEVYedsf]

I see you have taken a lot of time to decensitize your horse against things that might scare it. Good for you!

[sparrowlena]

My god that guy was ASKING to get his ass kicked. That horse is an angel.

[opiumhorse]

@sparrowlena "That guy" is me. "That horse" in the video is two different horses, if you look closely, the second horse is much younger. I have trained the better part of a hundred horses with this technique, & the "angel" horse knows it can trust me with anything. I have seen many friends injured by horses that reacted on instinct to something perfectly harmless. The horse didn't know that it wasn't going to get hurt, & accidentally hurt its rider. I teach the horses not to fear. 

[opiumhorse]

@sparrowlena Watch the video again, and see how confident the horses are, watch their body language, how comfortable they are, how contentedly they eat while I work around them. I had a little two year old girl dart under the larger of the two horses, CK, at an event, and my horse turned carefully and looked at her, thanks to my training with the ball. Before the training, a water bottle dropped under him and he bolted, afterward, he nuzzled the girls hair, and knickered to her softly.

[horselover00100]

ha ha that was a LOUD slap!! LOL

[MangoMustang]

@Appaloosalicious1 omg I loved that ass slap too not in a mean way I agree it should be auto tuned

[crfride]

cool



[Appaloosalicious1]

I love how loud that slap was XD this should be auto tuned haha

[opiumhorse]

@Appaloosalicious1 You should have heard the fly go by the microphone, it sounded like a train. The mic pickup was really turned up to pick up my voice as I worked around the horses. We had to work with the audio more than once, when we honked horns or ran the chainsaw. Glad you like the video.

[Appaloosalicious1]

@opiumhorse oh lol I'm glad it picked up that way tho because its that real crisp bum spank i love it xD I'm just a horse freak like that lol

[opiumhorse]

@Appaloosalicious1 That technique of training the horse to be used to a tap or slap on the flank or rump helps them not to startle if something like a tree branch or a piece of your tack smacks them during a ride or at an event. Also, the other main application came into play just yesterday. I went on a ride with a friend and we probably killed sixty horseflies during the morning alone. My horse will thrash his tail or move a bodypart to let me know where the fly is, and I kill it.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse My friend commented that my horse was truly showing me where the flies were, and would even avoid shooing them away if he knew I was about to kill it. I like that kind of relationship, because I have seen the exact opposite, where a horse ran out into a public road to get away from a horsefly, and had a child on his back at the time.

[Appaloosalicious1]

@opiumhorse thats so cool xD

[1989ProblemChild]

Well I'm just stating, even though your advice is great, With a horses natural instinct, when they feel threatened they either do one of two things, thats either kick or run from it. Lol, I love horses to death, Even though a horse could be trained not to kick under certain circumstances, I would rather stay out of the horses way. (If you know what I mean) :)

[opiumhorse]

@1989ProblemChild Generalized statements are fine, in general, I totally agree. Certain types of horse safety are best observed, especially around horses that you are not familiar with or that you do not have a relationship with.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse What we are doing is showing people how to build relationships that are closer than most people ever experience. I rode a short cattle drive today where we worked cattle on two seaoned horses. At one point, the horse I was riding got tangled in vines pursuing one of the bulls into the brush. My horse knows and trusts me, and when I gave him the command to stand, he stood still. I untangled him and remounted and we continued to drive the cattle, both of us none the worse for wear.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse As you are probably aware, horses are notorious for severly injuring, even killing themselves or their riders when they become tangled up in something. Most horses will panic and fight with everything they are worth to get free, because in their mind, their life depends on it. 

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse On another occasion, I had a two year old girl run up under my horse (she had slipped away from her mother). He stood still and looked down at her in a friendly fashion, careful not to step on her. When I took her by the hand and led her around in front of him, trying to help her understand the dangers she faced under his feet, she dropped the balloon she was holding and it popped.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse My horse jerked, but never moved his feet. All of that comes from years of work, attention, and a knowledge on the horses part that you will not let anything hurt him. If I sounded a bit strong earlier, it is because of how many myths and "rules" are out there in regard to horses that get people hurt as often as they protect them. Every injury I have received in working with horses came from not understanding their psychology and body language.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse Once I understood both, I find my relationships with them to be much more enjoyable and that they frequently seek out my company.

My favorite horse, the one you see me standing behind in the video, communicates with me both verbally and nonverbally, because he knows I am listening.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse Earlier today, when returning from the short "cattle drive", he vocalized his frustration that I would not let him run up the final hill to our farm. I patted him on the neck, and reminded him that we were both pretty tired from our work this morning. He didn't like my refusal to let him run, but he respected it even if he complained. Horses remind me of small children more often than not. I am sorry to hear about your fathers injury, and hope he is much better now.

[1989ProblemChild]

You never stand behind a horse ever!

[opiumhorse]

@1989ProblemChild According to who? People make abstract rules all the time with horses that serve no purpose, and limit us and the horse. I have personally used these techniques with many, many horses, and they are more comfortable around humans and enjoy the interaction.

[opiumhorse]

@1989ProblemChild There are other outdated and useless "rules" with horses, such as you only saddle or mount the horse from the left. Why? I have had a horse get hung up in an old fence (by a riding trail, of all things). I had to dismount to the right. If I had not trained my horse that he could be mounted from either side, not to mention trained him not to panic if he got hung up in something, then both of us could have been easily injured.

[opiumhorse]

@1989ProblemChild If you watch this and my other videos, you will see that instead of limiting ourselves, and our horses, these exercises are liberating to both horse and rider. Never is a limiting and useless word, especially when your horse wants to know that you or any other human, can safely be behind or under or on top of it.

[horsechick244]

why on earth would you smack a horse?? What if I went behind you and smacked you while you were eating? :/

[opiumhorse]

@horsechick244 The "smack" isn't hard, nor does the horse fear it. We use that technique to prepare the horse for having a horsefly killed on its back or flank or belly or legs, or neck, etc. On one weekend trail ride I killed over sixty horseflies myself, on one horse. The way to train the horse to this is to gently tap the flank or neck or bottom, and then rub in a circular motion.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse The "smack" as you put it, is always followed by a rub, no matter what. My horses will turn toward me to have me kill the horsefly, even nicker. It beats having a horse flip over trying to kill a horsefly on its own when you are riding or working with it.

[opiumhorse]

@opiumhorse The original reason I started the technique was that a horse ran one of my children out into a road trying to escape a horsefly, and ran her right in front of a truck. After that, all of my horses want us to help, they don't forget us.

[opiumhorse]

In many ways, a horse is no more than the sum of its emotional state. A horse and a woman share much in common, and that is no insult to either. Both are graceful, shapely creatures, but both view the world through the lens of how they feel about the situation. It is part of the beauty of both creatures. Both are also very empathic, and pick up on your emotional state.

[opiumhorse]

If your horse is afraid of something, or doesn't understand it, that thing is guilty until proven harmless. If that negative emotion is attached to a negative experience, such as being forced to do something while it was still afraid of it, that horse can develop a lifelong fear or loathing or even panic around that same or a similar situation. Our job as horsemen and horsewomen is to help our horses overcome these situations. That is why we named our series OPM, for Other Peoples Mistake

[joel19604]

Sorry I blew up.

[opiumhorse]

@joel19604 I feel strongly about the flag as well. I once stopped at a total strangers to pick up their flag and flag pole that had snapped in the wind. I wound the flag around the pole and propped it up so that it would not fall. The home owners had to come home and wonder just who had done this, but I hope it didn't offend them, I just hated to see the flag I love on the ground. Too many of my countrymen have died for it to see it disgraced. I salute your patriotism.

[opiumhorse]

Sorry this offends you. I will stop to pick up an American flag that falls and hits the ground, but I don't feel that a flag on a ballcap, or shirt, or that happens to rub a horse is disrespectful, especially when others seem so fond of burning it. Also, horses are not color blind, and respond differently to different colors and patterns, they can even see the difference betwee two pairs of gloves and insist of sniffing a new pair, so colors matter. Again, have a great day.

[joel19604]

That is disrespectful to the flag. USE A PLASTIC SACK !

[opiumhorse]

I am sorry you are offended by this. Here is the reason I use the flag for this purpose. A friend of mine was leading a parade with a larger American flag when the wind whipped the flag and it spanked the horse on the backside. The horse went over an embankment and nearly killed my friend. The horse understandably thought something was about to kill it, and reacted accordingly. The point of the exercise is not to "sack out" the horse, but to introduce it to multiple different things.

[opiumhorse]

I use fireworks, loud noises such as screams, sudden motions, etc, from many different objects the horse is going to have to deal with from day to day, and help them to understand that it isn't going to kill them. In nature, the most paranoid horse gets to live the longest, and they are only too happy to discover that what frightens them is actually not going to do them any harm. As for the flag, I am very patriotic, but feel it is a necessity, because people are not going to stop carrying

[opiumhorse]

flags in parades, and at horse events, to express their patriotism. I am showing people how to accomplish this without getting injured. Thanks for posting.

[semtech30]

Right on!

Something most people never take the time to do. They just want to get on and ride when there horse is still full of hidden fears.

[opiumhorse]

Thank you for the kind words, our goal is to help raise awareness of how horses think, and how we can use those instincts to both help the horse, and help ourselves. A horse that is not afraid of every day items is a happy, content horse, and has a safe, happy owner. I couldn't agree more. Thanks again!

[nyzbii]

Finally people who take the time to use their heads and train the horses right and thorough. Good job. I get so tired of all the idiots who accept a half trained horse and others who are just plain stupid. Or let a kid get hurt. Thank you guys.