Question on De-Sensitizing Horses

Aldoberto wrote to ask, “Can you set me straight on desensitizing a horse? My friend say's that (is) something we should not be doing. He says professional trainer(s) stay away from this.”

I can't set you straight Aldoberto, I can only give you my opinion. If you were in front of me, I would ask “what do you think desensitizing is?” before I would answer. There are some people who either do not like the term (desensitizing) or do not like what the practice of desensitizing is. I have heard Ken McNabb, who is a phenomenal trainer by the way, say (words to the effect) that he does not like to desensitize horses because he wants a sensitive horse in order to get the most out of him. I have heard others say that too much desensitizing will make a dull horse. I don’t know if that is possible or at least I haven’t done it yet.

I have used that term, “de-sensitizing” in the context of exposing a horse to different situations simply to teach the horse that he doesn’t have to react instinctively, but he can think through a problem. Such as flapping objects like flags, tarps or signs which can spook a horse causing him to react instinctively by fleeing. In fact, I think it would be difficult, even near impossible, to total de-sensitize a horse to all situations simply because their survival instinct is so strong.

I previously wrote a post about giving a horse time to think, or a pause between exposure from one situation to another. I think the time to relax, before being stressed again, is important to a horse's learning process. Hope this answered your question. If not, we can try again. Safe Journey, Aldoberto.