I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes

Just like her owner, Kalina has an innate fear of snakes: any sensible horse would have. Unfortunately, a little while ago she was badly shaken up by the hosepipe moving about under the pressure of water and now needs some reassurance that it will not bite her. 

I have worked with Claire a number of times and she is always prepared to take things slowly, so today we introduced Kalina to clicker training and a very small 'snake'; only one problem, she doesn't really like or understand about food from the hand. We packed away all the herbal treats, carrots, and cubes of bread as they were not to her taste and instead presented her with tiny bouquets of clover and grass. Soon she was moving about, backwards and forwards for treats, politely listening for the clicks and waiting until the treat was offered.

 To make them last longer I held the grass tightly so that she had to break it off. 

Next, I introduced a short length of hosepipe that was a mere 12" long to which she had no reaction at all. She was prepared to touch it and happy to let me touch her with it. She reacted to the longer section, about a yard long, by snorting at it and taking a couple of steps back, but in time she was prepared to stand and look at it more closely, even when Rowena, Claire's Mum, was making it wiggle on the ground. As you can see in the picture, she still has a 'running foot', left hind, but she has her head lowered and she is looking at it with both eyes. After this we were happy - okay, I was extremely happy - to lead her out to the fields with her companion Karioka. Tomorrow, I shall not be so selfish and I will let Claire carry on the good work.