All of the Stable Sounds are designed to be played on a regular basis. The more you play the CD’s, the more oblivious to sound the horse will become but there are other benefits to playing the CD’s too. Horses seem to become more relaxed generally and there is certainly an increased level of trust, not just when an unfamiliar sound is heard but with anything unfamiliar. With commitment, much can be achieved in helping to make the horse less reactive and consequently, safer.

 

The repetition of a sound may drive us humans to distraction, like a song that you can’t get out of your head and keep hearing on the radio. In contrast, the horse is driven to distraction by the unfamiliar, not the familiar. It is on this basis that Stable Sounds work, getting the horse so familiar with sounds that we have acceptance and not a reaction. Given sufficient  time, it is possible to achieve this with all horses to a varying degree. Once the horse is used to the sounds, playing the CD’s on a regular, preferably weekly basis will increase and maintain the level of acceptance. Playing the CD’s whilst you are schooling - indoor school and outside, should  become part of the desensitising process.

Desensitising the horse to different sounds is not a new idea. One of the earliest examples would be army horses and even today, the horses of the Kings Troop do not flinch when the guns are fired. Police horses are gradually introduced  to every sound they will encounter in their working lives, from raging crowds and city traffic to brass bands, low flying aircraft and gun salutes. With patience and care, it is possible to desensitise the horse to any sound.

The sounds alone will not make a horse ‘bomb proof’ - nothing will but they are a huge step in the right direction. How often do you hear a sound in the distance, speeding car, motorbike, helicopter etc. and feel your horse go tense? No matter how hard you try not to, you feel yourself go tense in anticipation and in response to this, your horse gets even more tense. This is a circle familiar to most of us: Stable Sounds help enormously in breaking this circle.  

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