Natural horsemanship desensitizing your horse www.opiumhorse.com

[karabourne]

"no humans were injured in the making of this video" should include horses were not injured

[opiumhorse]

@karabourne The fact that no horses were injured should be self evident. The statement that no humans were injured is why I teach what I teach, to prevent people from getting injured or killed.

[twosheas]

leadrope, get it out from under the colt's legs, but good video

[opiumhorse]

@twosheas 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.

[twosheas]

@opiumhorse really? hmm good job, very nice, that is a very handy tool, thanks for sharing,

[opiumhorse]

@twosheas I stumbled across the technique while teaching my horses not to shy when I was working around them with leadropes, etc, years ago. I recently had one of my horses get tangled up in our tree swing in the front yard while mowing for me. He stood perfectly still until I saw him & removed it. The fact that he wasn't terrified when it was wrapped around him was because of all the work I had done earlier. I have had this happen time & again, when a horse gets tangled in ropes, etc.

[twosheas]

@opiumhorse awesome! I 'have' a very chilled horse and he doesn't spook at anything, i've walked right under him and he just stares at me "Ya, what?" haha very good videos, it's nice to find people that work horses out of their fears rather than just reprimand when they do a natural reaction

[opiumhorse]

@twosheas I believe it all comes down to two things: If your horse trusts you, and you demonstrate that the item/activity isn't going to hurt you, then let the horse smell/touch it, then you are golden. That may be over simplifying it, but that pretty much covers it.

[twosheas]

@opiumhorse yeah, basically that is it

[rathmiron]

@twosheas it doesn't mean that if you can walk under a horse, he/she is 'very chilled'. i can walk under my horse, and she desn't carea bit, but she still spookes occasionally

[twosheas]

@rathmiron sorry, mine seriously doesn't spook at anything. all i was saying. sorry if you thought that's what I meant

[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.

[opiumhorse]

We have been going through the video footage for the past weeks, every time we have a moment, and are getting closer by the day to having the first video completed.

[opiumhorse]

I had something happen the other day that reminds me of just how empathic horses can be. My son and I had ridden down to the creek and cooked out, and were preparing to leave. He asked to cross the shallow creek on his own, just ahead of me, on foot. I consented, knowing he was in no danger, being only a few feet away the entire time, and at nine years old was trying to establish some independence.

[opiumhorse]

As I was preparing to cross, he slipped and landed on his back in the water. Although he was in no danger, I felt that parental burst of fear and adrenaline, which I saw my horse immediately react to. He leaned over and smelled my shoulder, then raised his head and watched my son with strong concern in his eyes. He kept watching as my son stood up, laughed and made his way the short distance the other side.

[opiumhorse]

When my son was safely on the other side, my horse relaxed visibly, partly, I believe, in response to how I was reacting, and to the calm I now felt. It was silly that I should feel that burst of panic and adrenaline, but watching my horse react to the phermones I was suddenly releasing was interesting. I have seen this kind of thing too many times to not believe that horses can "smell" many of our moods, and judge our attitude from our demeanor. It was an interesting thing to witness.

[opiumhorse]

We shot video on our first planned DVD, our working title is "Desensitizing your horse", and have enough footage for the first half of the DVD, so we are getting closer by the day!

[opiumhorse]

You see the why, in what we do. I saw a horse fly into a panic when a car raced past it, and the horse nearly killed its owner when it slammed into the fence. My horse, who was only a few feet away, glanced up, bored, and continued along without a problem. It is all a matter of training, and training keeps up from those trips to the hospital.

[TheBitdefender]

I know what you mean, I saw a mare nearly kill her rider because another horse got too close on a trail ride, and she kicked and kicked and almost fell down the hill we were riding up

[thespambully]

I like the fact that you show the horses original reaction, then show what he has achieved.  I particularly liked the part where you nearly dropped the tire and all the horse did was move a little to avoid it. I have seen situations like this, where something silly happened, and a horse flipped over, hurting its rider, so there is a real need for what you are doing!

[opiumhorse]

I love working with people, showing them what we have learned, and seeing them achieve the same!

[TheBitdefender]

If these videos they are talking about are anything like this quick explanation, then I want some!