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Seven tips for desensitising your horse

Written by CHRISTINE ARMISHAW

Seven tips for desensitising your horse There's more to desensitising a horse than might meet the eye. CHRISTINE ARMISHAW goes into detail in the first of two informative articles. You would be amazed at the number of times I’ve heard the words ‘my horse is just being naughty’. Yet it’s very seldom that a horse is ‘just being naughty’. Of course, there’s the odd one that is but mostly they're not. And for me, even more amazing are the number of people who've worked with horses for years but don’t realise that what they perceive as ‘naughty’ is actually a result of their own lack of understanding around how the horse is trying to communicate. One of the things I’m most passionate about in my work as a coach and trainer is educating riders so that they better understand their horses, which helps to keep the rider safer, and their horses to have a better life because they feel understood. Your goal should be learning how to communicate with your horse by using their language, by thinking about how they think, and by talking to them in a way they can understand. But before we get into the ‘how to’ of desensitising your horse, the first question is, do you know the signs that indicate your horse is either starting to relax, or is in a relaxed state? Relevant to the process of desensitising (as with all interactions with your horse), these signs are important indicators as to whether what you’re doing is working or just winding your horse up. To understand what you should be looking for, take careful note of your horse’s posture when they’re relaxed as opposed to when they’re stressed. You’ll notice that when they’re relaxed, they will stand with their head lowered and their eye at wither level or below - and it’s this relaxed posture that we want. However, a seemingly calm horse isn’t necessarily a relaxed horse. A horse with their head up, a hard non-blinking eye, and a tightly closed mouth with very little movement in the lip is a horse that’s stressed. They might not be moving their body, or appear to be that bothered, but internally they’re trying to decide whether they’re okay with the situation, or if they should panic and run away. When you first expose your horse to any desensitisation technique (which should always be done at the lowest level of intensity needed to elicit a response) they’re likely to react by throwing their head up, with their eyes wide and mouth tight, and might even start backing away from you. Keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing, but watch your horse carefully. As soon as they drop their head even a little, or maybe blink, or take a step towards you, stop! Reward their softening by taking away the source of stress. Watching their muzzle is key. While a horse is thinking things through, they have a tightly closed mouth. As they start to process the situation, they’ll usually start twitching their lips and nostrils, but what you are really waiting for is a lick and chew, which is them processing information and letting go of tension. Even more of a tension release is the head and neck shake, and the biggest one of all is when they start yawning, which they’ll usually only do after they’ve expended a lot of mental energy and are letting go of the tension caused by all that mental processing. As soon as your horse licks and chews – and the more they learn and understand, the more frequently they’re likely to do it - don’t ask for anything else in that moment, just wait for them to finish the process. The lick and chew, which some horses tend to do much more than others, is really useful for telling you that they’ve processed the information in a calm way, which is what you want. As a side note, if you’re looking to buy a horse, buy one that licks and chews a lot – it’s a sign that they process quite readily rather than internalising stress. Getting down to basics So, now you know what to look for, let’s get into the practical points of desensitising your horse. 1. No need to wait: You don't have to wait until your horse is old enough or ready to ride before you get started. Or, perhaps it’s a rainy day and you don’t feel like riding, or your horse has a light injury and can’t be ridden, then working on desensitising is a really valuable way to make the most of what would otherwise be unproductive downtime. 2. It's not once and done: Don’t go thinking that desensitising your horse can be done in one session. Although you’ll get some benefit, you won’t get it all. Plus, some horses are naturally more spooky than others and need more work. There are those who are initially spooky but quickly get over it, others will take one or two sessions, and some will take session after session before they make progress and may still not be as confident as other horses. And you have to factor that in. Don’t compare your horse with any other horse because it will lead to frustration. And always expect to start off one or two steps back from where you were when you last finished. If your horse is more confident than you expected in the next session, that’s awesome. But if not, don’t get frustrated, which won’t help you or your horse. It’s all part of the learning curve, so expect less, and then if you get more it’s a bonus. 3. The flow on effect: One of my favourite things about the progress you make during a concentrated desensitisation session is that the effects flow on and shape your horse’s overall personality, boosting their sense of self-confidence in other areas of their life. For example, a horse who reacted really badly to sounds had to be ridden in an ear bonnet at home and going off property was not even possible. So their owner gradually taught the horse to develop a calm, relaxed posture. Then one day, instead of going into a frenzy when a tractor started work in a neighbouring paddock, the horse approached the fence, lowered their head and relaxed themselves, because they had been trained to find a place of calmness and relaxation in an otherwise stressful situation. And that’s the flow on effect that filters into their everyday lives. They've learned a new way of managing themselves, essentially, a way of self-regulating that they didn't have before. Don't miss the final four tips in our February 2025 issue. Christine Armishaw Equestrian offers a variety of coaching and other equestrian services at her Otford Valley Equestrian Agistment & Training Centre just south of Sydney, NSW.
If a horse’s head is up with a non-blinking eye and closed mouth, it’s a sign of stress.

Seven tips for desensitising your horse

There’s more to desensitising a horse than might meet the eye. CHRISTINE ARMISHAW goes into detail in the first of two informative articles.

You would be amazed at the number of times I’ve heard the words ‘my horse is just being naughty’. Yet it’s very seldom that a horse is ‘just being naughty’. Of course, there’s the odd one that is but mostly they’re not. And for me, even more amazing are the number of people who’ve worked with horses for years but don’t realise that what they perceive as ‘naughty’ is actually a result of their own lack of understanding around how the horse is trying to communicate.

One of the things I’m most passionate about in my work as a coach and trainer is educating riders so that they better understand their horses, which helps to keep the rider safer, and their horses to have a better life because they feel understood. Your goal should be learning how to communicate with your horse by using their language, by thinking about how they think, and by talking to them in a way they can understand.

But before we get into the ‘how to’ of desensitising your horse, the first question is, do you know the signs that indicate your horse is either starting to relax, or is in a relaxed state? Relevant to the process of desensitising (as with all interactions with your horse), these signs are important indicators as to whether what you’re doing is working or just winding your horse up.

Horses with lowered heads and eyes at wither level or below are relaxed.
Horses with lowered heads and eyes at wither level or below are relaxed.

To understand what you should be looking for, take careful note of your horse’s posture when they’re relaxed as opposed to when they’re stressed. You’ll notice that when they’re relaxed, they will stand with their head lowered and their eye at wither level or below – and it’s this relaxed posture that we want. However, a seemingly calm horse isn’t necessarily a relaxed horse. A horse with their head up, a hard non-blinking eye, and a tightly closed mouth with very little movement in the lip is a horse that’s stressed. They might not be moving their body, or appear to be that bothered, but internally they’re trying to decide whether they’re okay with the situation, or if they should panic and run away.

When you first expose your horse to any desensitisation technique (which should always be done at the lowest level of intensity needed to elicit a response) they’re likely to react by throwing their head up, with their eyes wide and mouth tight, and might even start backing away from you. Keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing, but watch your horse carefully. As soon as they drop their head even a little, or maybe blink, or take a step towards you, stop! Reward their softening by taking away the source of stress.

Watching their muzzle is key. While a horse is thinking things through, they have a tightly closed mouth. As they start to process the situation, they’ll usually start twitching their lips and nostrils, but what you are really waiting for is a lick and chew, which is them processing information and letting go of tension. Even more of a tension release is the head and neck shake, and the biggest one of all is when they start yawning, which they’ll usually only do after they’ve expended a lot of mental energy and are letting go of the tension caused by all that mental processing.

As soon as your horse licks and chews – and the more they learn and understand, the more frequently they’re likely to do it – don’t ask for anything else in that moment, just wait for them to finish the process. The lick and chew, which some horses tend to do much more than others, is really useful for telling you that they’ve processed the information in a calm way, which is what you want. As a side note, if you’re looking to buy a horse, buy one that licks and chews a lot – it’s a sign that they process quite readily rather than internalising stress.

Getting down to basics

So, now you know what to look for, let’s get into the practical points of desensitising your horse.

  1. No need to wait: You don’t have to wait until your horse is old enough or ready to ride before you get started. Or, perhaps it’s a rainy day and you don’t feel like riding, or your horse has a light injury and can’t be ridden, then working on desensitising is a really valuable way to make the most of what would otherwise be unproductive downtime.
  2. It’s not once and done: Don’t go thinking that desensitising your horse can be done in one session. Although you’ll get some benefit, you won’t get it all. Plus, some horses are naturally more spooky than others and need more work. There are those who are initially spooky but quickly get over it, others will take one or two sessions, and some will take session after session before they make progress and may still not be as confident as other horses. And you have to factor that in. Don’t compare your horse with any other horse because it will lead to frustration.

And always expect to start off one or two steps back from where you were when you last finished. If your horse is more confident than you expected in the next session, that’s awesome. But if not, don’t get frustrated, which won’t help you or your horse. It’s all part of the learning curve, so expect less, and then if you get more it’s a bonus.

  1. The flow on effect: One of my favourite things about the progress you make during a concentrated desensitisation session is that the effects flow on and shape your horse’s overall personality, boosting their sense of self-confidence in other areas of their life. For example, a horse who reacted really badly to sounds had to be ridden in an ear bonnet at home and going off property was not even possible. So their owner gradually taught the horse to develop a calm, relaxed posture. Then one day, instead of going into a frenzy when a tractor started work in a neighbouring paddock, the horse approached the fence, lowered their head and relaxed themselves, because they had been trained to find a place of calmness and relaxation in an otherwise stressful situation. And that’s the flow on effect that filters into their everyday lives. They’ve learned a new way of managing themselves, essentially, a way of self-regulating that they didn’t have before.

Don’t miss the final four tips in our February 2025 issue.

Christine Armishaw Equestrian offers a variety of coaching and other equestrian services at her Otford Valley Equestrian Agistment & Training Centre just south of Sydney, NSW.

 

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