Gia - session 10 - Boat bumpers!

I brought Gia into the barn yesterday to work with her.  I allowed her to sniff around the crosstie area again, but she did not take as long to relax and feel comfortable.  Once she was tied, I groomed her, and she stood fairly quietly while I walked back and forth into the tack room to bring out her stuff.  A lot of young and green horses will get nervous when they are left alone.  For a horse in the wild, being alone is dangerous, so it's something they have to learn to get comfortable with.  I don't like to soothe the horse when it gets anxious, but rather reward her when she finally relaxes.  In this case, the reward could be as simple as coming back to the horse and finishing the grooming process.  Gia really enjoys being around people, as do most horses, so that is definitely a reward she enjoys.  Gia had been through this process in the past, but still needs gentle reminders now and then.  

Once she was groomed, I started to put the saddle pad on her.  She was a little nervous again, so I continued with some more desensitizing by rubbing the soft saddle pad all over her body.  It took about half the time for her to relax and stand still.  She was still fidgety when I cinched up the girth, so I just got it on loosely again, and then finished tightening it while she ate some grass.  My round pen was tied up today, so I opted to keep her on a lunge line in the arena for her work.  It's not as easy, but she is pretty well behaved on a line, so it's not a big deal.  She hadn't been in the arena since last year, so she did want to check some things out, but she wasn't really worried or stressed about anything.  

She went right to work on the line, and relaxed fairly quickly, giving me good signs of submission and relaxation.  So, the next thing to add was the "boat bumpers".  Boat bumpers are just that - a couple of long, white, rubber, bumpers that you tie to a boat so it doesn't hit the dock when it's floating around.  I got mine at Walmart for about $10.  I have a bit of hay string tied to each one, with a snap attached to it.  Then I can just snap it anywhere I want to on each side of the saddle.  It's a fantastic tool for simulating what a person's leg will feel like banging around on the side of the horse (hopefully, my leg doesn't bang around on her like the bumpers do though ☺).  If I remember correctly, I never did this part with her last year, so this was something completely new to her.  Once I snapped them on, near the stirrups for this session, I put her back out on the lunge line.  She was definitely surprised at first, and got a little quick, but, just as quickly, she listened to my direction and focused on the work rather than what was going on with the bumpers.  After just a few laps on the lunge line, she was putting her head down and licking and chewing again.  We went around a few more times in the other direction, but she could have cared less.  So, I brought her back in to the barn, untacked her, and put her back out.  I will use the boat bumpers a few more times, snapping them on in different places each time, before moving on to something else.  Then, right before I am ready to actually get on her, I will use them again as a reminder.  Hopefully, they will do their job and desensitize her to some of what she will feel when someone is on her back.