Sacking Out - Part Four
Once you have accomplished sacking your horse out with the saddle pad and rope you can then move on to the worst thing ever invented in the horse's mind - plastic. That thing that blows across fields when he is walking along minding his own business. The thing that makes crinkly, scrunching noises that scare the bejeepers out of him.
To sack your own horse out with a plastic bag, hang 1 on the end of a buggy whip or longe/lunge whip. Let him look at it then shake it. Be prepared for him to take off. This exercise is likely going to take awhile until he settles enough to look at the bag and stand still while you shake it.
Up until the time he did succeed in standing still while you shook the bag, you were working nicely away from his body. You were flipping the bag on the end of the stick up and down and sideways, making arcs through the air. Once he has decided he can handle standing generally there while you shake the bag, then bring it closer to him and let the bag lightly touch his back.
Just quietly stand for a short bit until he feels comfortable with the bag on his back, then let it touch his belly, sides, legs, rump, withers, head, ears and chest. If you do this long enough, you might even find he will let you put the bag on his head. Again, you may find this will either go fast or take a long time. It'll largely depend on your horse and their personality.
Always remember when operating with horses, work safely, carefully and calmly. Getting upset with the horse when operating with them does not help either one of you, and will actually short circuit the learning process. Like children, horses like to learn in a calm, loving, encouraging environment. They did not come with manuals and if they did, they didn't read them. It's your current job to train your current horse to the best of your own ability and make them into calm, quiet and relaxed companions. It's your current job to teach them you would never harm them and will always treat them with respect. End each session on a good note, with praise and rest - rewards for them doing an excellent job.
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