Help to desensitize mini?!

Hi everyone!

So I have a mini mare who is a little "bum shy" I guess you could call it. I need ideas or ways to help her with that. Basically what she does is if I am braiding her tail, shaving the hairs down her back legs, etc, she always twitches her butt, but not just a little, she almost curls her bum under. I don't breed her so she has never had a "bad experience" so to say that would cause it. I've been working with her the past couple days, by just petting, sliding my hand down, and gently tapping with her tail comb and saying good girl every so many seconds. She doesn't kick or anything but you can tell she is kind of like "please get away from back there". Sometimes she will move her bum away from me. I am training her to pull a cart, so this is not something we can leave alone. As when training the cart bars will tap her butt and she will end up turning away which we don't want her afraid of the cart! I know this is kind of hard to explain! I have been lunging her with just the harness saddle and the piece that goes down the back and loops around the base of the tail (forgot the name, I am still learning that!) and she twitches with that too. I know this will not cure overnight, but would love help with it! Thanks!

I like to massage my horses' tails. At first they curl up, tuck their tails, and try to move away. But eventually they are fine with it and relax the tail. Start with sliding your hands under the tail bone and gently run your fingers down the bone. Lift the tail a little. When she moves away, just try to step with her without letting go. Begin to lift the tail more every time you do it. Even if you don't take time to groom every day, do massage the tail. Scratch around the tail head. Mine enjoy having the end of the tail bone rubbed.

Rub and scratch under the stomach and run your hands down the insides of the hind legs. She needs to get used to being touched everywhere. She will come around eventually.

The piece under the tail is the crupper.

I would use a lead rope at first, kind of throw the rope over her but and then her back legs til she is calm and relaxed. You can also run the rope back and forth. You can also use a plastic bag and go over her whole body with it. But I have a mare who is completely fine with these things but she hates getting the inside of her back legs clipped. She's gotten better but she is a seasoned show mare so I don't think this is something she will ever get over with.

After you've built on the above - here are pics showing some of what we've done...

The straps by her belly are the wrap straps (for he shafts) hooked into the shaft carrier (tug), buckled and left to hang and flop from there. The loop at her hind quarters, on the breeching, are the hold back straps (the brakes) for the cart on any harness except mini show harness (which may not have breeching & hold back straps). The hold back strap is left flopping while lounging as you see here and while ground driving. AS you can see, she "crouches" too.



Here she is going over a tarp - she is a little over 2 yrs old here. We didn't get her hitched until she was almost 4 yrs old (part of that was working with other ponies but not all).



There is plenty of work between these shots -



Here is working with pool noodles -



umbrella work (have more pics of a couple of different ponies). Yes, the traces are dragging on the ground. Sometimes we did that - they are heavy betathane and easy to clean sweat, sand and mud off of so it worked to get them accustomed to more straps around their legs and what it would feel like if a trace came unhooked from the single tree (preferably that NEVER happens).



tarp work

Pole work over obstacles (in work harness) -





and a close up of that pony in same pic above -



and he did buck and kick at the poles - which we then stopped -



Picked up the pole and rubbing him with it -



Around a different obstacle in the pasture

water work while pulling the poles





stopping in the water -



Stopping him before he finished his "bonzai leap" into the pool... I really don't want him jumping into water or a ditch like the first pic while hitched to a cart or wagon!



and good boy!!!



Practicing our "whoa, stand, pet" here - actually I may be leaning on him due to being close to passing out. I know there were a couple of times vicki and I worked him together that got quite exciting as he got upset. We did a lot of this stopping to calm him, get him to realize it was OK and to give all of us a breather. Us more than him, LOL!!

Years earlier - the only two pics I have of any of our ponies being desensitized by wearing milk jugs (& laundry soap jugs *& hula hoops) - This was done on all of our riding ponies - to the best of my knowledge this filly never did get worked in poles, ground driven or hitched. She IS a sweet hunter pony!





Another filly that never got ground driven for harness work, but just enough to start riding. Here she is working with a pvc shaft trainer that I made. O, yea, this is one of "them thar crazy arab ponies, doncha' know?"... 1/2 arab/1/2 shetland

desensitizing with the lead rope (probably should have done these first?!?) -





tarp work -





bag work -

I can't say enough about breeching and "flopping" (for desensitizing - in public, harness horse folk would be horrified if you leave straps loose and flapping!!) hold back straps. They do a lot for you - while your horse is moving and doesn't even associate the "feel" betweeen his legs, around his flanks and hocks or under his tail with you. This pic shows the hay string braided breeching with leather hold back straps (never have braided a set of hold backs, actually). Vicki has asked "Flower" to stand after getting her "whoa" and is now rubbing her. This will also accustom your horse to being approached while in harness should anything break or come loose or just need to be loosened or tightened.

Also note - Vicki is holding both lines to the bit in her hand (left where it can't be seen). The lines are not yet run thru the rein terrets on the surcingle (not a training one but actual driving one) as Flower has not yet fully learned to ground drive. We start out with the lines not going thru the surcingle. then the outside line while lounging goes thru something low (shaft carrier usually - on this one it would be a strap attached to the ring for the shaft carrier - doesn't show in this pic) and the inside line goes from bit to hand. Then we graduate from there...







Ground driving around barrels with poles hooked to each side.







I've been told (mostly by mini/shetland folk) that using poles like we do is ridiculous and not necessary. However, Vicki and I are not pro trainers. We don't do this every day and we sometimes, due to having lots of family issues with elderly parents (both hers and mine now), go long periods in between working ponies. We also "log" with our ponies and go to draft horse events where they might pull different equipment. We decided to do everything we could to help us out and get our ponies as solid and accepting of a lot of different scenarios as we could. NO, you can't actually train for every scenario - but you can introduce new, scarier things and get them used to different sensations and then also encourage them to think - and to "spook in place" w/o running and preferably w/o panicking at all while you get up to them to show them they are ok if something is/does go wrong.

We both worked with a draft horse trainer from April 2010 thru November 2010 (and still take an occasional refresher lesson either thru him or more advanced thru other trainer/instructors). Those months - we did A LOT of just stopping and standing with the ponies. While they were stopped - we approached, touched them, rubbed them, picked up a leg - starting in a halter. They got their tails touched and moved about. You walked around them and did the same things on the other side. Then ALL OVER AGAIN while ground driving in an open bridle. Then again with blinders on. I'm sure a pro- trainer could do this much faster than Vicki and I did with our ponies, but we weren't working them every day like a pro would (should?) have. I know for a fact, over the summer, I was doing awesome to work the ponies 3x week... big difference between 3 & 5 or 6 that the instructor was working the horses he had in training.

As to clipping - I've had several that no matter how much work we've done with them, they never fully accept or stand quietly for the inside of a hind leg to be clipped. I make sure that the clipper blades are NOT hot. Because the inside of a leg (actually any skin where you are clipping) is VERY sensitive to the heat. If you burn them, no matter what, getting the quiet and trust back is difficult if not impossible. I have some that I had to have help with - a helper held a twitch. I used a variety of types on them... Sometimes an actual pinch twitch, sometimes a cord or chain on a heavy stick handle, sometimes a chain under the upper lip. I have one shetland mare that if I HAD to clip her head - BP, jaws, around her ears at all - I drop her with a hind leg tied up and then hog tie her so she can't get up. I then put a heavy, thick saddle pad under her head (did this outside on a thick patch of grass w/ no ants). OI she was MAD. But I got her clipped. Still cant clip her - even using the scissors on her bridle path is hard. But now can clip her body with her standing up and just tied, no twitch or lip chain, w/o her going insanely crazy... Drugs didn't make a difference and when I was clipping her she was always in foal, so we did what we could and let it go at that. I have found that with some - if you can get them to relax while you have the leg picked up like a farrier does (out to the back behind them) you can clip the inside of the leg a lot easier, too. Many DO NOT like having the vibration thru their bodies and never learn to tolerate it. I have one that can't handle the vibration when a rasp is used on her hooves. If you think it's the noise of the clippers, use some cotton or something for her ears and see if that helps.