EXERCISE 1 TACKLING THE TARPAULIN
With thoughts of spiders and zones in everyone’s minds (above), Emma now introduces one of the trickier tasks of the day — crossing the tarpaulin. This exercise can be difficult for horses to grasp initially as why cross over it when you can go around it or jump it? However, building a horse’s confidence and showing him that he can do it will strengthen the partnership and prove that he can trust his handler to do things that he is reluctant to do or is worried about — a key skill for anyone who ever comes across something scary, such as a rustling plastic bag, on a hack.
“It’s OK if he panics the first few times. Just calmly bring him around and try again. If he rushes over, let him turn and come onto a circle without immediately pulling him up as this could panic him more,” advises Emma. “Equally, he might just try to walk around it to begin with, and that’s fine, too. Just try again.”
Some horses might be keen to investigate, while others will be more stand-offish.
“When the horse looks at the tarpaulin, have a soft line. When he looks away, ask him to bring his attention back to you by taking up the slack so that you’re applying a little pressure. When he looks where you want him to, soften again,” says Emma. “Let him look and sniff if he wants to; just don’t let him bite. If he becomes stressed, he’ll tense, including his jaw, and he will hold onto the object unwittingly, so it goes with him if he tries to get away which will scare him even more.”
Anyone doing this exercise should assess their horse’s reactions to determine where his green, amber and red zones are.
“His green zone is being on the sand, and the tarpaulin is amber, but it’s important to listen to your horse,” says Emma. “If it’s too much for him, go back to his green zone and work on making the amber zone smaller; for example, by folding the tarpaulin in half so that it occupies a smaller space.”
How to set it up
Place a tarpaulin in the arena or in a flat area of a field. Weigh it down on two or four sides with ground poles. You will also need a lunge line to handle the horse.
How to do it
■1 Approach the tarpaulin in the first leading position (see box right) so that you can monitor your horse’s behaviour and keep out of his way if he has a high-energy reaction.
■2 Allow him to pause to take in the object if he needs to, but redirect his attention to the task in hand with a gentle pressure through the lead rope if he becomes distracted.
■3 The horse may not cross the tarpaulin initially, and he might skirt around the outside the first few times. This is fine. He’s just nervous and isn’t sure what you want him to do. Calmly lead him away and come back again, resuming the first leading position to try again.
■4 As your horse moves forward, move back to keep the same amount of space between you.
■5 Be prepared for him to try to rush or jump across the tarpaulin. If he does, let him turn and come onto a circle. Don’t try to pull him up immediately.
■6 Repeat this as many times as you need to until your horse is walking calmly over the tarpaulin. Don’t rush him, and if he becomes panicked, make the task less daunting by folding the tarpaulin in half.