Behavior Modification Techniques
By
Dr. Jim and Lynda McCall
Copyright
© 2003
Lesson Eight
FLOODING
VS DESENSITIZATION
Somewhere in the southwestern
At this point, the cowboy slips a braided hackamore over the horse's
head. He begins to sack out the colt by flipping an old blanket over its
shoulders and back. If the bronc is worth his salt,
dust and dirt will fly some more until it turns to mud as it mixes with the
sweat pouring off both bodies.
The fit begins to die down as the mustang's survival instincts kick in.
With the horse's head tied securely to the post, the horse wrangler, carrying
the saddle, approaches his shoulder.
The bronc fails to submit. With the only part
of body still free to resist, the bronc fires a
couple of well aimed blows with his hind legs. Placing the saddle back down on
the ground, the seasoned bronc-stomper pulls out a
scarf and another rope. The colt has left the horse breaker no choice but to
tie up a hind foot and blindfold the cunning critter.
The blindfold is twisted into the cheekpiece
on either side of the hackamore and slowly slid over the bronc's
eyes. Next the old soft braided rope is looped around the neck and tied with a
bowline knot, leaving about 16 feet of line free to snare a back leg. Another
struggle takes place before the rope can be drawn back through the neck loop
and tied off.
Next the saddle goes on and the cinch is pulled up tight. A lot of fight
has gone out of this previously unrestrained animal. The bronc-stomper,
after unhooking the tie to the post, now earns his name and his pay. He
slithers up into the saddle with the stealth of a rattlesnake stalking a rat
and drops lightly into the depth of the horse's back. He reaches down easy to
loosen the blindfold, then unties the slip knot holding the hind foot off the
ground.
The horse, apparently blinded by the bright overhead sun, stands
quietly. The rider tickles his sides with a light rake of his spurs.
Explosion! It is man's athletic
ability against that of the horse. The spurs rake, the quirt whips the flanks
of the sweat soaked horse. In a few minutes the horse gives up and runs, then
tires to a jog. The day's lesson is over.
The
fight or flight syndrome is still built into most horses born in the
twenty-first century. The bucking, stomping, and squalling is
the horse's reaction to a simulated predator attack.
This method for breaking horses has been around a long time and is
probably responsible for the old horsemen's saying: "There never was a
horse that couldn't be rode and there never was a cowboy that couldn't be throwed."
The truth in these words is founded upon an instinctive fear of horses.
Horses fear being pounced on by creatures that land on their backs. Peaceful
grazing animals are eaten by predators who behave like this. Four thousand
years of domestication has not erased this survival instinct. The
fight-or-flight syndrome is still built into most horses born in the
twenty-first century .The bucking, stomping, and squalling is the horse's
reaction to a simulated predator attack.
Unfortunately, this innate fear is not the only one which plagues
horses. Specific horses may be afraid of sudden movements, loud noises, cars,
trains, sonic booms, or being bound around the heart-girth. The list goes on,
leaving the horse trainer to figure the best way to handle these fears.
Historically there have been two major approaches. The one most folks
think of first is the one described in the opening story - flooding. It works
well on many horses, but it runs a high risk of both physical and mental injury
.This technique starts by identifying what is frightening the horse. Then the
frightening stimulus is applied full strength while preventing the horse from
escaping it. The frightening stimulus is kept up until the horse either dies or
gets used to it.
While effective on some horses, the thrashing and fighting of a
terrified horse can create physical damage to the barn, the horse and the
human. The mental damage suffered by many horses is often just as bad, although
more subtle. They do what we want, but in a mechanical sort of way without any
willingness. Some weaker horses mentally snap and are never quite right
afterwards. Their spirit is completely broken.
There are also some problems if the flooding is not completed. For
instance, when trainers break horses using the flooding techniques used by the
1885 bronc-stomper, it is important for the rider to
stay in the saddle until the horse stopped showing fear. If the horse manages
to throw the rider, flooding is not completed. Instead the horse learned that
fighting can eliminate the cause of his fears. Therefore many trainers today
use flooding only as a last resort, when all else has failed. They also keep in
mind that if you are going to flood, you had better do it properly.
The other approach is slower and requires more patience, but is much
safer since it has a very low risk of physical or mental injury. It is called progressive desensitization by
some and systematic desensitization by others. We call it, simply, desensitization.
As with flooding, desensitizing begins by identifying a specific thing
that a horse fears. Once identified,
the trainer works out a plan whereby the frightening stimulus can be reduced to
a level that does not intimidate the horse.
Now the altered stimulus is presented to the horse. If the trainer was right, the stimulus will
not create any fear in the horse. Slowly
over the course of several training sessions, the intensity of the stimulus is
increased in very small increments.
Done correctly, the horse should calmly accept each new level of
increased intensity. If, at any time,
the horse shows signs of fear it indicates the trainer has advanced too
quickly. The solution is to fall back to a level that the horse can handle, and
continue the process from there.
Desensitizing takes more time, but the benefits are substantial. The
horse does not need to thrash and fight to escape. Consequently, there is far
less chance of physical damage to the barn, the horse or the human. Mentally,
horses find this method less stressful, which preserves the spirit so prized by
horsemen.
A good example of desensitizing a horse's fear of carrying a rider is
the method we developed which has been called by some “breaking without
force" or "tackless training."
Pressure on the horse's back is applied at a level the horse will accept
without fear. This can be merely a hand placed on his back. The next step would
be two hands. When the horse feels comfortable with that, an arm or two may be
pressed across his back. By continuing in small steps, and never going to the
next step until the horse is comfortable, you will soon be bellied across his
back. Sitting up is only one more small step. The
horse has been desensitized to carrying a human without the thrashing, fighting
and damage so characteristic of the flooding approach.
Applying
pressure on a horse's back at the level he will
accept without fear is a good example of a desensitization technique.
Spooky horses are usually trained best using desensitization training.
Flooding can destroy these sensitive animals. Whatever stimulus causes them to
spook can be decreased and reintroduced at a level they can accept. By
gradually increasing exposure to the fear object these horses will learn to
ignore what previously frightened them. For example, horses with fears of loud
noises, such as thunder, can be desensitized using high quality tape
recordings. The volume can be turned down to an acceptable level, then
gradually raised in stages. One major advantage of tape recordings is that it
allows you to present the fear at opportune moments such as feeding time.
A horse that strongly objects to carrying a sack of rattling cans is a
more common problem for trail riders. The wildest beast can be desensitized by
using this simple technique:
Start by quietly shaking a sack of cans at a distance from the horse
where he shows interest but not fear .Slowly increase the sound to its loudest.
Step in closer and repeat the sequence. If the horse should show fear at any
point decrease the noise level, step back or stop the sound completely. Walk up
to the horse with the sack and let him investigate. Once his curiosity
is satisfied, return to an acceptable location and begin desensitization
again. It won't be long until the horse will no longer be apprehensive about
what it once thought was a "horse eating sack."
Desensitizing also works well on young
horses because they aren't mature enough to handle a great deal of stress. A
young horse has to learn to accept a myriad of new experiences. One difficult
lesson is the horse's acceptance of restraint. Tying a weanling up hard and
fast, either to a wall or a snubbing post, is an example of flooding. The
pressure is relentless and inescapable. He must submit or die. A few die. Some
break legs or pull down their heads. (These horses have dislocated the vertebrae
where their heads join their neck. They will, forever, hold their heads to one
side - thus the term "pulled down head").
A less traumatic approach to teaching restraint exists
using desensitization techniques. By haltering a young foal and leading him
along with his dam, the foal learns restraint in increments. At first the foal
will try to follow his Mom. The new situation, the halter, will inevitably
cause him to pull away. Small amounts of pressure will bring him under control
because he wants to return to his dam. Increasing the time before the foal can
return to his mother's side establishes gradual control without unnecessary
fear.
As you can see, desensitization is a very simple concept. To change
concepts to useful tools for training horses requires an understanding of the
horse. You must be always willing to let the horse tell you how much he can
take and when he has had enough. Without the ability or desire to read a horse,
concepts will always be concepts and the union between horse and man will never
exist.
By
haltering a young foal and leading him along with his dam, the foal learns
restraint in increments.