If you are a horse owner or know anything about horses and plastic bags, then you know that it is quite the accomplishment when you can get your horse to accept it near, touching or on him.
In this video, I am introducing Taser to the plastic bag tied onto the wand with a short lash. He is quite scared and unsure of it and especially with the wind animating it.
At first I approach him with the bag-less “not so scary” end and work it up along his face. The goal here is to get the plastic bag to touch his face where he is accepting of it. Once we accomplish this, then I work to introduce it to touching the rest of his body.
You will notice that our other resident mustang, Juno, who confidently comes up to Taser’s side investigating the plastic bag as she associate’s it with having possible food contained within it. This interference from Juno could have possibly gave Taser some confidence in accepting the touch of the plastic bag, you decide.
Generally, it is not a good idea to work with the horse stuck in the corner because this cuts off any opportunity to leave and feel more safe. However, Taser seemed to feel safe there at the time. So when I felt confident he would not run away immediately I moved him away from being completely stuck in the corner allowing room on each side so that he could escape if he wanted to.
Taser is such an amazing horse that I was able to put the plastic bag on his face, over and under his body, behind, and weave through his legs on the ground.
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