Prepare Your Horse for Photos and The World - 15 Things to Desensitize To
Horses are a prey animal, and their first natural response to even inanimate objects they might perceive as dangers can end badly for the horse and everyone else around them.
Working with your horse to learn to control their fears is a great training exercise and bonding experience as well!
Desensitizing your horse to strange things and situations is the first step to getting the best pictures you can. It's for your, my, and their own safety that they won't react to the camera triggering their flight instinct when I approach with an unusual item they're not familiar with. But beyond getting equine photos, gearing your horse for scenarios that might be strange for them is best for general riding practices as well! Working with items your horse will see often and throwing in some random ones to mix things up is always a great idea!
- Tractors and ATVs
- Whip or stick and string
- Plastic bags
- Umbrellas
- Tarps
- Children and strangers
- Gun shot (you can start with a cap gun or blanks for safety!)
- Clippers and scissors
- Water hoses - both off and on, and the water running on them.
- Fly spray (this is also great for being ready to apply medication sprays too - I love Silver Honey Rapid Wound Repair Spray .)
- Blankets
- Balloons
- Other animals (dogs barking, chickens running around, goats being goats - it all takes getting used to!)
- Water/mud puddles
- Pool noodles
The best way to help desensitize your horse (in my opinion!) is to approach and retreat, and you can learn a little more about that method with this video on YouTube.
