Post by Admin- Dingo on Sept 1, 2018 11:36:10 GMT -6
As previously stated, bomb-proof is when an equine doesn't show negative reactions to loud noises or anyone walking behind them without warning. For our intents and purposes this will also be extended to not reacting to masks, horns, and combat. The horses will be exposed to things they would not normally be exposed to each event, even if they are ponies brought in to pull carts or carriages as simple background aspects. They cannot react negatively to the sounds of armor, hordes of undead, or combat coming a little too close for comfort.
To begin the training, find where the stress points are for the equine. What do they react to? Is is positive or negative? How bad is the reaction in regards to the current stress level of the equine?
We will be looking at the training of the pony Blaze to show how to bomb proof your horse.
When Astrid first received Blaze the poor pony disliked most everyone, even children. Carefully, over the course of a few weeks, she slowly socialized the shy pony by first getting her used to her new owner, then steadily more and more people before finally introducing children. Each time the new person was introduced before being allowed to ride, giving Blaze the chance to acquaint herself with the stranger and allow her stress levels to drop.
When Serena met Blaze a scant few months later at a local Ren Faire, Blaze was a champ at allowing strangers near and around her. At that event was when it was decided to go onto the next step, and see what we could do to larp bomb-proof Blaze in a matter of 2 days. Thus the training begun.
We started with an objective: to complete a ring pass show by the end of the faire.
We begun by allowing her to become accustomed to King Murdoch being around her in his armor. At first the sound of metal on metal gave her pause, so we gave her small spurts of His Majesty in his kit, and allowed her to watch, at range, him practicing with his son, each in kit. The combat at range didn't phase her. After a few hours of fight, approach, pet, retreat, fight she no longer was phased by being around either in armor.
Next we had Murdoch be a little more active around Blaze in his armor, making more clangs next to her side. Again this was done in spurts so as not to over tax her stress. By the end of the day she could care less about the silly monkies and the metal clothes they wore.
The next day was a high stress day for Blaze. The morning was stormy, and her buddy had a sore hoof and couldn't come to the faire with her. With the stormy weather the wind had picked up an EZ-Up and spun it towards her, quick thinking saved her from the attack of the giant blue plastic menace.
We decided it best to wait for the weather to clear and her stress to calm before continuing the de-sensitization. After a couple of hours the weather was clear and Murdoch was back in his armor. This time we had him mount up into the saddle. As we assumed given the type of stress Blaze had endured that morning, she started a slight bit at the sound and sudden weight, but calmed exceedingly fast.
To work up the act of a lance dropping we begun with a long foam sword. We started slow, and begun to pick up the pace and walking her during the process. Within an hour she was calm enough to begin working with the lance itself and a ring suspended on a bamboo pole. Working slowly with Blaze being led by Hannah the pony worked up the courage, and by noon was able to do a full set of ring passes for a small crowd.
Within two days a pony that was unsure of many things was able to manage completing a ring pass for a crowd with a man in loud armor in her saddle.
Bomb-proofing takes patience, but it can be done in a relatively small time frame. To sum up the procedure we used with Blaze:
Slow and Steady
Introduce
Stay a moment
Slowly back up
Reward and Repeat
This can be done with any animal, and for things like porta-poties closing loudly behind them will take patience and creativity. We highly recommend starting the process in a controlled environment with all safety being taken into account, including wearing helmets if in the saddle.
To be able to come to an event as a “side-equine” (meaning not being used for games or other more advanced activities) the horse must be bomb-proof to at minimum the following:
Loud Noises (Ie: Armor, horns, yelling, loud doors behind, ect)
Contact from Behind (Including movement)
Children
Combat
Crowds
Weather (Heavy winds, thunder, ect)
To be allowed to participate in a particular activity the horse must be bomb-proof to all the above alongside the specifics of the activity. In example a horse to be used for jousting must also be used to having a rider in armor, a lance dropped, wearing armor or barding, approaching a horse at a trot in armor, with a dropped lance wielded by another person in armor, and of course the contact or breaking of the lance.
As the horse and rider becomes available to participate in the activities, the horse alone must not be the only one bomb-proof. The rider as well must fare well in the circumstances and remain in control should the equine startle. Both the horse and rider must be met with approval by the local hosts before being allowed to participate. Be prepared to have videos of the horse on hand to showcase the bomb-proofing at or before the event.
To begin the training, find where the stress points are for the equine. What do they react to? Is is positive or negative? How bad is the reaction in regards to the current stress level of the equine?
We will be looking at the training of the pony Blaze to show how to bomb proof your horse.
When Astrid first received Blaze the poor pony disliked most everyone, even children. Carefully, over the course of a few weeks, she slowly socialized the shy pony by first getting her used to her new owner, then steadily more and more people before finally introducing children. Each time the new person was introduced before being allowed to ride, giving Blaze the chance to acquaint herself with the stranger and allow her stress levels to drop.
When Serena met Blaze a scant few months later at a local Ren Faire, Blaze was a champ at allowing strangers near and around her. At that event was when it was decided to go onto the next step, and see what we could do to larp bomb-proof Blaze in a matter of 2 days. Thus the training begun.
We started with an objective: to complete a ring pass show by the end of the faire.
We begun by allowing her to become accustomed to King Murdoch being around her in his armor. At first the sound of metal on metal gave her pause, so we gave her small spurts of His Majesty in his kit, and allowed her to watch, at range, him practicing with his son, each in kit. The combat at range didn't phase her. After a few hours of fight, approach, pet, retreat, fight she no longer was phased by being around either in armor.
Next we had Murdoch be a little more active around Blaze in his armor, making more clangs next to her side. Again this was done in spurts so as not to over tax her stress. By the end of the day she could care less about the silly monkies and the metal clothes they wore.
The next day was a high stress day for Blaze. The morning was stormy, and her buddy had a sore hoof and couldn't come to the faire with her. With the stormy weather the wind had picked up an EZ-Up and spun it towards her, quick thinking saved her from the attack of the giant blue plastic menace.
We decided it best to wait for the weather to clear and her stress to calm before continuing the de-sensitization. After a couple of hours the weather was clear and Murdoch was back in his armor. This time we had him mount up into the saddle. As we assumed given the type of stress Blaze had endured that morning, she started a slight bit at the sound and sudden weight, but calmed exceedingly fast.
To work up the act of a lance dropping we begun with a long foam sword. We started slow, and begun to pick up the pace and walking her during the process. Within an hour she was calm enough to begin working with the lance itself and a ring suspended on a bamboo pole. Working slowly with Blaze being led by Hannah the pony worked up the courage, and by noon was able to do a full set of ring passes for a small crowd.
Within two days a pony that was unsure of many things was able to manage completing a ring pass for a crowd with a man in loud armor in her saddle.
Bomb-proofing takes patience, but it can be done in a relatively small time frame. To sum up the procedure we used with Blaze:
Slow and Steady
Introduce
Stay a moment
Slowly back up
Reward and Repeat
This can be done with any animal, and for things like porta-poties closing loudly behind them will take patience and creativity. We highly recommend starting the process in a controlled environment with all safety being taken into account, including wearing helmets if in the saddle.
To be able to come to an event as a “side-equine” (meaning not being used for games or other more advanced activities) the horse must be bomb-proof to at minimum the following:
Loud Noises (Ie: Armor, horns, yelling, loud doors behind, ect)
Contact from Behind (Including movement)
Children
Combat
Crowds
Weather (Heavy winds, thunder, ect)
To be allowed to participate in a particular activity the horse must be bomb-proof to all the above alongside the specifics of the activity. In example a horse to be used for jousting must also be used to having a rider in armor, a lance dropped, wearing armor or barding, approaching a horse at a trot in armor, with a dropped lance wielded by another person in armor, and of course the contact or breaking of the lance.
As the horse and rider becomes available to participate in the activities, the horse alone must not be the only one bomb-proof. The rider as well must fare well in the circumstances and remain in control should the equine startle. Both the horse and rider must be met with approval by the local hosts before being allowed to participate. Be prepared to have videos of the horse on hand to showcase the bomb-proofing at or before the event.
