Desensitizing Her Back

Xena, wearing her winter blanket

Xena is very protective of her back, and has been for as long as I’ve known her.

In 2009 I trained her to tolerate a cooler being slung onto her back, and this year she’s accepting a winter blanket, just like any other mare. But even so, she continues to be rigidly high-headed and hollow-backed when the blanket is being removed. She also does this with her bareback pad and saddle. Bracing is a fear-based behaviour, and its likely to have a direct impact on my safety when mounted.

Asking Her for Head-Down

I decided to train Xena to become more confident with her back, by reinforcing her earlier head-down training. This is because it’s possible to cause a horse to relax, by asking them to lower their head. So, my plan was to remove the blanket, while at the same time asking her to drop her head.

I prepared to remove her blanket, by first folding it in half on her back (i.e. less fabric to handle). I asked her for head-down, and moved the blanket a few inches. As expected, her head promptly came back up. I again asked her for head-down, moved the blanket a few inches, and — you guessed it — her head came back up. My plan required patience, and dozens of repetitions, but within a few weeks her head was level during the entire blanketing process.

We’ve now moved on to saddling, and as before I saddle her in stages, interspersed with head-down commands. Anytime she seems worried, I just ask for head-down and she willingly drops her head, almost to the floor. The other night I used approach & retreat with her cinch (she’s cinch-shy at the moment) and asked for head-down at the same time. By the third night, she allowed me to tighten the cinch until it was quite snug. She’s been licking and chewing more than I’ve ever seen before.

Head-down has worked amazingly well for us!