Upon bringing the horses home, we realized that we were going to need to start at the very beginning to make sure their were no holes in their training. They both are hot horses and need some serious groundwork and desensitizing. For the past few days, Munchkin has be faithfully working on desensitizing Dixie to the rope.
She throws the rope over and around all parts of her body until it no longer phases her. As you can see in the pictures, this part of the desensitizing doesn’t really phase her. In fact, there are times where it looks like she’s going to fall asleep. That’s a good thing.
She still does not like anything to touch her ears, and she is a little head shy. Munchkin has been working those areas more than the other areas. Some days she does well, and other days, she tends to over-react.
I’ve been very pleased with the dedication that Munchkin is showing to this training. She’s been out there almost every day doing some training.
Munchkin ends her desensitizing sessions with a good trot around the turn-out area. This is Dixie’s favorite part as her head goes up and her tail pops up in typical Arabian style. She’s gotten quite good at following Munchkin’s lead by going at her pace and stopping when she stops.
Thanks to the almost daily training, Dixie is starting to fill out more in her hind end and topline. It’s good for both Munchkin and Dixie. (Side note: Munchkin is not mad; she’s concentrating.)
We’re using the Clinton Anderson Fundamentals series to learn how to train our horses, so it’s a step-by-step process which we like. He does a great job teaching the skills and covering potential horse and human issue each step of the way.
