Sapphire Pulls Back! Another extreme...

Our training was progressing well, and each day, I would tie Sapphire to the railing at the washing bay and she would stand relaxed and let me give her a good wash down. Unfortunately, a couple of days ago, for some unknown reason, she threw her head up when some water got close to her face and she pulled back until she pulled the slack out of the line. She freaked out and panicked. She was violently shaking her head, sitting down, slipping, rearing.... and it happened a few times in quick succession. She finally managed to stay still for a few moments for me to be able to untie the rope. Th next day, she did the same again, this time she was not hard tied to the railing, so she bolted backwards and flipped over, almost knocking her self out on the concrete. We had an extreme case on our hands.

In this video, I show you how I go about explaining to Sapphire what halter pressure on the back of her head means, and help her understand that she has the ability to create that pressure, and also to release that pressure herself, and therefore, get rid of the panic response that she had developed.

Enjoy.