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Bombproofing with Advanced Tarp Work

March 28, 2012
Bombproofing, Video
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We’ve had a lot of wind lately. I used to dread wind because it meant I couldn’t ride. But now, I’m grateful for the training opportunity.

For the non-horsey readers, winds make horses spooky. Aside from surprises of things blowing around, the wind will also put a sensitive horse on higher alert as he tries to smell and hear possible danger and they are a bit more covered up.

I had Zahra not only wearing the tarp but walking around with it. Walking forward is a bit easier, though she’s still tentative about it. Backing is another degree of emotional difficulty for her, but she did great!

Bombproof Your Horse – Advanced Tarp Walking

March 26, 2012
Bombproofing, Video
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I haven’t written much about basic tarp training because Zahra did that a long time ago. But I will get to it soonish.

This exercise assumes the following things about your horse:

  • he is comfortably walking over a tarp that is laid out flat
  • he is fully desensitized to the sounds that a tarp makes when it flaps around
  • he is fully comfortable having things wrapped around his feet
If your horse can’t do all of these things, please don’t try this yet.
You also want to make sure the tarp is in good condition. If your horse gets caught in a hole in the tarp, he could panic.
Click any thought of forward.
Just because you can get one foot on doesn’t mean you can get two. Just because you can get two doesn’t mean you can get four. Each foot is a goal unto itself.
Also, stepping backwards on the tarp isn’t the same as stepping forward. These are separate exercises. The video shows mostly forward but at one point, I am giving her the cue she knows to move backwards.
Pardon the vertical orientation of the video camera. This was my first time taping a session.
Zahra did get her hind feet on the tarp but the wind knocked the camera over!