Sacking Out Part One

Sacking Out - Part One

The best thing you can possibly do for your horse, no matter what their age, is sack them out. This is a little harder with older horses as they have already developed a set response to things that "spook" them - however, it can be done.
Sacking out simply means slowly and calmly introducing the horse to things they regard as scary - and - some things you wouldn't think would be scary, but are. The problem with the previous sentence is this: YOU wouldn't think would be scary. We don't think like horses for the most part, and there are times when they just go right off the rails over something they've seen hundreds of times before, didn't blink an eye at and then one day, the "object " didn't look the same and they pitched a hissy. So what do you do? You do your best to try and sack them out as well and as thoroughly as you possibly can.
Is sacking out a lot of hard work? It can be, but the rewards are well worth putting in the time. The main premise behind sacking out is, once the horse realizes the object that scares them is harmless, they will overcome their fear. And again, this is a good theory and for the most part does work. There are always exceptions to the rule, particularly if you are in a really tense situation. It's always best to realize that and then you won't get a nasty surprise.
Every horse should be sacked out. Period. The thing to remember when doing this is that every horse learns things at a different pace. Some may take several sessions to accept a blanket on their back, and some might wear it on their heads in no time flat. Pace your sacking out to their learning curve.
You might to start your sessions by giving your horse some exercise in the round pen, just to capture his attention, or in the alternative, lounge/lunge them. This will also calm them down so you can work with them.