Slow and steady always wins the race when it comes to introducing new or “scary” concepts to our horses. In partnership with Equestrian Masterclass, Tik Maynard has broken down the steps horses go through when encountering something frightening:
⭐️ Denial (your horse might refuse to look at the jump or acknowledge it’s there)
⭐️ Fear (your horse wants to move backwards or run away from it)
⭐️ Curiosity (your horse will look at the object, sniff it, or fee it)
⭐️ Play (Touching or sniffing with their nose or touching with their legs)
⭐️ Acceptance (Understanding what the object is and feeling familiar around it)
Now, how to translate this into working with spooky jumps? Let’s take a dive in with these short videos from Noelle Floyd:
