My next step in sacking my horse out to gunfire was to move him forward and rate his speed as I fired blank .45 LC cartridges off to either side of him.
Sometimes if you move a horse away from smething that is a problem for him or something that causes him anxiety, you are confirming to the horse that moving away is a good idea,...sort of like validating his fear. So for me success in shooting from the saddle during forward movement would be to rate his speed on loose reins,.... where it would be a different measure of success for training to shoot off your horse for hunting purposes. For preparing a horse to shoot off of for hunting, I would think I would be okay with a horse that moved alittle after the first shot, settling down as I worked the action and readied for a second shot.
To take a shot off a horse at a game animal, you should be pretty sure that you have a valid shot where you can kill or stop the animal. No sense in shooting just to shoot or otherwise just wounding.
In any event, when doing anything involved with firearms, even shooting blanks, abide by the four safety rules: Guns are always loaded until you have physically determined that they are not; Never point your gun at something you are not willing to destroy; keep your finger off the trigger until you are sure of your target; be sure of your gun to target line and what may be past your target or coming into the gun to target line.
Safe Journey.
I watched a couple of your videos on shooting from horseback. What guns do you use and or recommend? Great site and thanks! Bill W.
ReplyDeleteI am in need of advice. I live in the country but my home is next door to a gun club the pasture is 500 yards from the club. I have not purchased a horse as of yet. But I am getting one. How do I desenseatize from the loud noises from the gunfire?
ReplyDeleteYou live next to a gun range! Perfect way to work on desensitizing a horse to gunfire. I would start with a lot of ground work while the shooting range is open. Eventually the horse should get used to the noise and the noise won't bother it anymore. It will make it easier if you have established yourself as the leader. I have some neighbors that like to shoot every Sunday. I found this out in the round pen one day. No bigy, I just kept her calm by redirecting her attention to what I wanted her to do. Just stay calm and keep her focused as best as you can. Just my opinion from my minimal experience. Good luck!
DeleteOl' Junior seems like a good egg. I'm starting to get my Tenn. Walker, Ranger, used to gunfire. I don't plan to get into mounted shooting or anything, but you just never know what's going to happen. What if a crazy pit bull or a zombie comes out of the woods running at us and I have to shoot? I don't want Ranger to spook and throw me and have a damn zombie eat me.
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